u/HtownTouring

Hey there, I just moved here from TX and I’m so glad I chose to live here of all the Bay Area neighborhoods I was considering. My favorite part of living here is how low stress daily life is, the people, respectful drivers, and proximity to downtown SF by ferry. I haven’t experienced a single big city stressor living here and it honestly feels like there’s some sort of catch that I haven’t picked up on yet hahah. It’s mind blowing to me how much calmer it is here compared to crossing the posey tube into downtown Oakland and the ease of access to downtown SF is phenomenal.

Pros:

1. Superb ride quality - serene in every possible sense. It’s head over heels quieter than my old ‘18 Camry and the new Camry. It feels super planted on the freeway and eats up rough pavement. The engine drone does not bother me. Pretty similar planted-ness as the RX350h albeit lower to the ground.

2. Exceptional real world fuel economy. In eco mode I regularly achieve 45-50 mpg, with about a 10% hit when in normal mode. For a 4,200 lb car, this has got to be world class.

3. Lexus-like interior and exterior finishes, LEDs all around, exceptional exterior paint, and loaded with standard luxury/safety features. The silver roof rails look absolutely gorgeous against the red body paint. The wheel wells are coated in some sort of high quality fabric looking material. You just don’t expect this level of quality finishes for a $40-45k car.

4. Toyota safety sense 3.0, particularly the full speed dynamic cruise control and steering assist are such underrated features.

5. Bulletproof reliable powertrain along with Toyotas comprehensive hybrid warranty. No drive belt, no alternator, eCVT, dual port/direct injection engine, it really doesn’t get simpler than this. The eCVT is so much smoother than the ‘18 Camrys 8 speed.

Cons:

• I wish the seat height allowed for more adjustment upward. At its highest level, the hip to knee angle still feels like a sedan. If you’re hoping for a RAV4 seating style (traditional SUV) you will be disappointed. It feels easier to get in and out compared to a Camry but you’re still sitting with your knees extended, albeit to a lesser extent than a Camry.

• It’s not a fast car or sporty by any stretch. The body roll, while not excessive, does not give much confidence in corners. It’s just a heavy car, there’s no way of getting around that. The electric motors help get it going from a standstill but it’s not a car for spirited driving.

• The air conditioned seats don’t work as well as the RX. In eco mode they’re hardly noticeable. The AC compressor does not seem as powerful as my non hybrid ‘18 Camry even in standard drive mode.

• Brake pedal feel is a bit spongy/springy, does not allow for much modulation.

• The ambient lighting is pretty weak, I wish it had multicolor ambient lighting available like the premium plus trim of the RX and along the dash. That feature alone is so inexpensive for Toyota but is something I’d happily pay $1k more for. Also, the interior lights are too dim when adjusting screen brightness to an appropriate level for night driving. The two options are interlinked, there’s no way to adjust the gauge brightness independent from the button lights.

Main takeaway: this is an exceptionally comfortable road trip car with tons of space without feeling like a big bulky SUV. Despite its weight, it gets exceptional fuel economy.

Just bought a new red CS XLE without upgrades on the west coast at the end of the month, called in for their best price before going into the dealership. This one was in inventory for 28 days.

I absolutely love this car - it’s so smooth and quiet! I’m coming from an 18 Camry SE and this feels like a huge upgrade.

TSRP was about $47k which includes delivery, all weather mats, and door edge guards.

Price offered was $41.5k plus TTL.

Price would’ve been the same regardless of whether I financed outside or with them, managed to get a 4% rate from my credit union whereas the dealer only offered the standard Toyota 8%.

How does this compare to what you’re seeing in your market? Any recommendations for where to buy the platinum extended warranty (they seem to be fairly cheap for this car)?

For what it’s worth I sold my Camry to Carmax for 45% residual value at 9 years old and 125k miles ($11,400) in TX.

For those who primarily value a quiet apartment at night, what have been your most successful screening criteria?

Narrowing down my apartment search to these neighborhoods and wanted to know which is better for an active 30 year old that works in downtown SF, spending most of my time out jogging, hiking, urban exploring. The most important factor to me is being able to come home to a quiet and peaceful apartment at night. While Berkeley rents are significantly cheaper than the peninsula, I’m a little worried about noisy neighbors in a student oriented area but perhaps this is less of a risk in Albany and el cerrito.

Berkeley Albany El Cerrito Daly City Bayview South SF San Mateo

Texan moving to SF soon and wondering how reliable the route is for commuting to work. I rode Caltrain once last year from SF to Palo Alto and was pleasantly surprised by how clean the train was, loved the tables with power and wifi.

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Ideally on the west side. Memorial city has some spaces near the clock tower but they’re a bit low. I’m sure someone else has had this same search haha.

30 years in this city and i cannot wrap my head around why the theaters season runs only in the absolute hottest time of the year

Anyone have a chance to see this? Is it worth seeing?

Can we collectively do something about these drivers? Serenading us all with their broken mufflers. When will a Houston law maker do something about this quality of life issue?