Toyota offers eco-friendly Highlander
A theme is emerging as the second generation of hybrid vehicles entrench themselves.
Toyota and Honda, the two companies out in front in the development of hybrid technology, are moving to position their hybrids as premium offerings.
The Accord Hybrid is essentially identical to its siblings, but it’s the quickest Accord and its standard-equipment list is a hedonist’s dream. Now, Toyota replicates the strategy with its new Highlander Hybrid.
Available in two trim levels and front- or all-wheel-drive, the Highlander’s mile-long base equipment list includes seven-passenger seating, power driver’s seat with power adjustable lumbar support, power everything (including one-touch up-and-down windows), heated mirrors, cruise control, universal remote and on and on.
Safety gear includes anti-lock brakes with brake assist, stability control, traction control and a full complement of airbags including curtain-style bags.
Divining the intentions of product strategists is dicey business, but it appears two complementary concerns are driving this up-level move.
In the first case, the manufacturers are sending a clear signal that energy conservation need not be painful. And in the second, they seem to be making a non-issue of price; in the numbers at which it is now being produced, hybrid technology is sufficiently expensive to discourage budget-bound buyers.
In the case of the Accord, the hybrid premium is about $3,000; it can run twice that, or more, in the case of the Highlander.
To be sure, as the cost of gasoline creeps ever upward, increasing numbers of buyers will take a second look. Two-wheel-drive Highlanders achieve fuel-efficiency ratings of 33 city/28 highway; AWD versions claim 31/27.
Those numbers compare favorably with the 19/25 and 18/24 of conventionally powered Highlanders.
(Though they seem backward, those numbers are accurate: Toyota’s hybrid technology is more efficient in stop-and-go driving, where it relies heavily on its batteries, than it is on the highway.)
If you were to drive 15,000 miles a year, with 45 percent of it on the highway, and the average price of gas were $2.50, it would take about seven years to amortize the cost of hybrid technology.
Limit your driving to city miles only, and the payback is reduced to four or five years, again depending on the price of gas.
Those numbers take into account the $2,000 federal tax deduction offered this year; next year, it falls to $500. Go figure.
Other concerns lie in wait, including maintenance issues that aren’t yet fully known, including the recent discovery that some Toyota Priuses have been stalling during operation. Both Toyota and Honda have a lot at stake, though, and are known for standing behind their products.
Consumers seem not to consider hybrids a particularly risky purchase; they’re selling well beyond expectations. It’s obvious that for many hybrid buyers, if not most, the choice is one of conscience; they’re willing to put their money where their beliefs are.
Looking down the road, it’s reasonable to assume that the price differential will subside as acceptance of the technology spreads.
To the naked eye, the Highlander Hybrid is a garden-variety Highlander, which is to say it’s a conventional-looking midsize crossover SUV. Built on the Camry platform, it offers car-like ride and handling, although its extra weight noticeably affects the hybrid’s performance.
It’s plenty quick — quicker than the standard versions — thanks to the bounteous torque produced by the 650-volt “motor generators” that act as intermediaries between the drive train and the wheels.
In the AWD Highlander, there are three of them; one to start the gasoline engine, one to power the front wheels and one to power the rear wheels, their only source of power. Each is also capable of creating electricity to recharge the nickel metal hydride battery pack, which is stowed under the rear seat. In this closed system the batteries are constantly being recharged so the Highlander never needs to be plugged in.
The drive train proper is comprised of Toyota’s familiar 3.3-liter V-6, which in this case produces 208 horsepower, rather than the 230 it makes in a conventional Highlander.
All told, the motor generators and the gas engine make a total of 268 hp. Towing capacity is 3,500 pounds. Power is managed by a continuously variable transmission (CVT) and a computer determines which set of wheels should receive the most power.
The system adds some 300 pounds to the hybrid, but the extra power compensates to make this the quickest Highlander, with 0-60 times of about 7.3 seconds. The system operates seamlessly, with no obvious transfer of power from the battery pack to the gas engine. Assuming a near-full charge, the V-6 shuts down at idle and will actually operate in golf-cart mode at low speeds. The only other obvious signal you’re driving a hybrid is a slight shudder that occurs when the gas engine starts up from idle.
Toyota warns that the AWD Highlander should not be used like a conventional SUV. That’s typical of most sedan-based crossovers, but is especially critical in the case of the hybrid Highlander; using it in deep sand or mud may cause the failure of the rear generator motor.
The hybrid is available only with the two-person third-row seat. Unfortunately, it’s essentially useless for anyone larger than an adolescent; legroom is more or less on par with other vehicles of its size, but head and shoulder room lag badly.
Otherwise, the Highlander Hybrid is the same comfortable, competent and safe crossover SUV as its conventional brethren. Those who value its virtues as an exemplary hauler of people and possessions, and who have the urge to go hybrid, will find it a more than adequate solution.