General comment
So after six months of ownership, and finally reaching 40,000km's, it's satisfying to reorrd that this was a good choice, despite some initial misgivings about boot space and performance. With time we've grown accustomed to it's unique behaviour. Believe me, as a former purist petrol head (V8's, rotaries etc.), this is a satisfying change, and a challenge of a different type. Whereas P/H behaviour/attitude and interest is primarily focussed on speed, acceleration and performance, the hybrid evokes a different interest and objective: keeping those greedy Shieks POOR, i.e. how far can I go for $10? In this regard a change to a (safer) driving style becomes the norm, and without the burgeoning commute priorities, this car allows, and even thrives, on a casual driving style.
Mechanical observations
In this area we ran into a quirky situation; it became apparent when navigating roundabouts in particular, turning to the left revealed a (front wheel) "bearing noise", unmistakably! This at 38,500km's and all! So imagine the surprise the dubious service receptionist got when it turned out it was a faulty wheel bearing despite his polite dismissal of my concern with his easy, dismissive, explanation of "the front tyres exhibit 'feathering' and it's probably resultant road noise you're experiencing, sir." Should have bet him a set of new tyres right then!
So during the service they confirmed they needed to order a new wheel bearing out of Japan (as there are none in stock in Australia, as you'd well expect for a vehicle type that's been on the market for less than 8 years and few of which have likely yet reached the high, 100,000+k's, when you'd expect such failure.) at a cost of a mere $400, that's right FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS!
