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2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Review April 20052006 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRIDON SALE: June BASE PRICE: $33,030 POWERTRAIN: 3.3-liter, 208-hp, 212-lb-ft V6/167-hp, 247-lb-ft permanent magnet motor (total system power 268 hp); fwd, CVT CURB WEIGHT: 4015 lbs 0 to 60 MPH: 7.5 seconds (mfr.) The Highlander Hybrid is the latest iteration of what Toyota thinks is The Next Big Thing, that thing, of course, being hybrids. Toyota is betting heavily people will want hybrids now and in the foreseeable future for one of two reasons, maybe both: 1. They see hybrids as the right thing to do for the environment and Mother Earth. 2. They just cant stand the price of gas anymore. More than likely, it is the latter. However, you can buy an awful lot of gasoline for the Highlander Hybrids $33,030 base sticker ($34,430 for a four-wheel-drive version). Thats $7,890 more than a base V6 gas-powered Highlander. Standard features added on to the hybrid model account for $2,300 of that, leaving the cost of hybridization at $5,590. You could power a fleet of gas guzzlers for weeks on that, even at $3 per gallon. In either case, with $32 billion in cash sitting in the bank, Toyota can afford to bet heavily on whatever it likes. And right now, Toyota likes hybrids. The Highlander is the fourth hybrid vehicle from Toyota/Lexus. First out of the gate was the science project-looking Prius in 2000. It was small but roughly 150 times more practical than the two-seat hybrid Honda Insight that preceded it in the U.S. market. The second-generation Prius arrived for 2004 with more room in the passenger seats and in the trunk, but still a little Star Trek-looking in its design. The Lexus RX 400h ( Green with Luxury, Feb. 7) hit showrooms April 15. Arriving at dealers in June, the Highlander Hybrid is the latest in a line of hybrids that will eventually spread across the entire product range. Two-thirds of the companys vehicles will be offered as hybrids in the next four years. That will include the GS 450h next year, the Camry the year after that, then the ES, Avalon, Sienna, Tundra and Sequoia hybrids somewhere in the 2008-to-2010 timeframe. Lexus has even gone to the trouble of trademarking the moniker LS 600h, which will have a hybrid V8 producing the same power as a gasoline V12, making it the greenest luxocruiser ever to hug a tree. But thats the future. Right now the news is the Toyota Highlander Hybrid, a less-expensive but otherwise similar copy of the Lexus RX 400h. The two SUVs are so close they even had the same chief engineer. The drivetrains are about identical. Essentially the Highlander costs less and comes with an optional third row of seats. Both Highlander Hybrid and RX 400h combine Toyotas 3.3-liter V6 with two electric motor/generators to increase efficiency. Four-wheel-drive versions get a third electric motor mounted on the rear axle powering the rear wheels. The rear motor spins only when the vehicle dynamics integrated management system senses slip and wants to route torque to the rear axle. The V6 puts out 208 hp and 212 lb-ft of torque. The first electric motor acts as a generator, converting stopping power to charge the 288-volt NiMH battery pack under the middle row of seats. The second electric motor produces 167 hp and 247 lb-ft of torque. The rear axle-mounted motor makes 68 hp and 96 lb-ft. You cant just add up those numbers to get the total system power. Instead, using that laws of physics stuff, the total comes to 268 hp, or 200 kW. EPA ratings for the SUV are 32 mpg city, 27 mpg highway, for a combined 30 mpg. The power of a V8 and the fuel efficiency of a four, Toyota says, and they aint far off. From behind the wheel the Highlander Hybrid and RX 400h drive almost identically, that is to say, smoothly, efficiently and quietly. On a straight highway you cant tell it is a hybrid. But when it silently pulls from a stop under battery power, you remember. Unlike the hybrid Honda Accord, you dont get the irritating clunky starts and stopsthis system is less intrusive. We would compare the Highlander Hybrid to the Ford Escape Hybrid, components of which are licensed from Toyota. Will everyone buy one to save Planet Earth? Thats the $30 billion question. If you really want to save the planet, you could telecommute, carpool, bicycle or ride the bus. Some of the latter are even using hybrid and fuel cell technology now. Or we could all go back to subsistence farming. If everyone did that, there would be no need for hybridsor cars, computers and the NHLand the global economy would collapse. Nothing is simple. SOURCE: Auto Week | ||
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