2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Review

Specifications

Hybrids are all about numbers: how much they save, how much they cost, and what environmental good they do. But there is one number that really gets me excited about the new Highlander Hybrid, and that number is 30. It’s an off the scale rating for Olympic-grade synchronized swimming, for sure, and it also happens to be the fuel economy figure, in miles per gallon, that I managed to extract out of this SUV during the course of a week. It hasn’t been too long since I’ve seen such a number returned when tabulating mileage and gas receipts, yet what makes it a sort of personal trophy is that the vehicle which produced it can comfortably move seven occupants at a very rapid rate, thanks to 270 horsepower.

What makes the Highlander’s mileage of such great importance is that this figure was extracted out in the real world. It was driven in stop and go traffic, on side streets and on the highway. It was driven on errands, out to dinner, and to and from doing the sort of things that most Highlanders do in rain, shine and extremely windy conditions - not on a rolling road in some lab. In other words, the figures that the EPA produced can be matched - it isn’t just a liberal extension of the phrase “Your Mileage May Vary”.

The key to extracting good fuel economy out of any car, whether gasoline, diesel, E85 or hybrid powered, is to follow the golden rule of smoothness. Easy on, easy off, and stick to the speed limit. The only difference with a full hybrid like the Highlander is that if you’re gentle enough with the accelerator pedal, the engine will simply shut itself off and carry the vehicle via a combination of gravity and electrical power. Try shutting off a regular car while on the move and you’ll partake in something called hypermiling… and rather than getting any electrical boost you’ll lose your power steering and power brakes. It also happens to be particularly illegal for these reasons. And not that you would, but it’s impossible to hypermile a Highlander Hybrid as it comes with a push-button starter, which doesn’t allow such irresponsible behavior.

Although the Highlander on the whole is brand new, there’s a lot in the powertrain department that has been carried over from the previous generation. Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive system isn’t mated to the new 3.5-liter internal combustion engine (ICE) that’s in the regular Highlander, but rather the older, smaller 3.3-liter V6. I see no harm in reinventing a wheel that’s perfectly round and works perfectly well, however, as the 3.3 is Lexus-grade refined. It’s used in the RX 400h, and likewise goes for the electronically controlled CVT and intelligent all wheel drive system. By using these components, whatever budget would otherwise be destined for engine development could be spent elsewhere, such as fine tuning. And that’s where the new Highlander Hybrid shines like freshly polished silverware.

This isn’t to say that everything was carried over - the electric motors and the battery pack have been upgraded to produce more power and torque and the hybrid drivetrain itself has been modernized to dispense its power more efficiently. The transition between gasoline and electric propulsion has been honed and refined to the point where you really need to pay attention to determine whether or not the engine is running it’s off and powered solely by its electric motors, or whether these motors are doing the braking or the actual brakes.

In the midst of these upgrades, the latest version of Hybrid Synergy Drive also has a couple of new tricks up its sleeve pertaining to electric power. The first is “EV Mode”, which operates the car solely on electricity, and right beside it is a button labeled “ECON”. EV Mode sounds great in theory, in that it can run solely on electric power, but in practice… well, it borders on redundant. You see, EV mode has a narrow range of usability; the engine and battery pack have to be operating at the right temperature and road speeds can’t exceed 25 mph. Depress the throttle too much and the ICE fires, and off you go. Dreams of zipping along on pure electric power are burst, unless you’re willing to drive painstakingly slow.

The other new mode, “ECON”, makes a whole lot more sense. Short for “Economy”, what it principally does is limit the amount of throttle that can be applied at any given point in time, preventing you from using more fuel than you actually need. One consequence is that when active it feels like the Highlander has been latched to a two-ton anchor. The difference is especially noticeable when it’s been activated while the car is already in motion. However, if you set ECON mode right when you’re starting out, the throttle response feels much more natural. In a comparative test between two days of driving under the same conditions (commute plus highway driving), I noticed that my fuel economy was roughly 2 mpg better in ECON than under normal mode.

Another pro-tip with regards to the Highlander is keeping an eye on its gauges. Like the Camry Hybrid or RX 400h, the Highlander features a net power gauge in place of a tachometer, which indicates how much total power the gas and electric motors are putting to the ground together. Going one step further, the Highlander shows exactly what’s going on with regard to the amount of fuel you’re using. On the outer ring of the gauge are five white bars that progressively light depending on how far your foot’s to the floor. The more bars you’re using, the more fuel is headed for the ICE. Stay within one or two bars, and the Highlander Hybrid functions at its greenest.

And I know that it’s a small point, but the standard back up camera and information display is of a particularly high quality. It operates at a super-high resolution that remains perfectly crisp and clear even at night, when reverse cameras tend to get saturated and grainy. I suppose this should be no surprise, considering the amount of electric-related gear in the Highlander Hybrid. When not reversing this display shows the real-time inner workings of the hybrid system, displaying what type of power is going where at a given moment.

As for the rest of the Hybrid, it’s more or less identical to the standard Highlander. The dash looks upscale, with the same sort of velvety low-sheen finish that you’d find in a Lexus, but Toyota appears to be the master of disguise. A rap of the knuckles will tell you that it most certainly isn’t rubbery or soft. But does this matter? Everywhere you’re likely to touch, except for the side window sill, is going to be padded and well finished. Still, I wasn’t particularly happy to hear a couple of rattles, made all the more obvious by the general absence of noise in this CUV. The standard cloth-trimmed seats have a nice, premium feel to them, though an upgrade to the Limited model and its leather-clad seats will enable the Highlander Hybrid to give the RX 400h a good run for its money. Interestingly, the base Highlander Hybrid is the only Highlander to feature two rows of seats - the third row bench is optional.

From a driving standpoint, the Highlander is painless, and to be a bit honest, not particularly memorable. Its steering is light and its suspension is softly tuned. Like its exterior styling suggests, the new Highlander is a little less car-like and a little more SUV like, with more body roll, pitch and dive than before. In the grand scheme of crossovers, the Highlander Hybrid is still better balanced than most, playing refinement and comfort as its strongest cards.

With a starting price of $33,700, the Hybrid actually fits in near the bottom of the Highlander range, and it’s only a few hundred dollars more than the gasoline-powered Sport. And that happens to make a fair bit of sense, because it’s a difference you’re likely to make up fairly easily, not to mention that fact that you get the push-button start and proximity sensing key as a bonus. The next point to consider is the that you’re unlikely to find a cheaper hybrid as capable as the Highlander Hybrid when optioned with its third row seat. The 2-Mode Hybrid versions of the Tahoe and Durango will ring in at $52,395 for the former and most likely more than $40k for the latter, and given that both are V8-powered, body-on-frame, full-size SUVs, fuel economy won’t be as good. They do, however, offer more interior space and better towing and hauling figures.

Of course, take this review with a grain of salt. As the EPA and the television and print ads say, “Your Mileage May Vary”, and of course in real life it does. Not too long ago I read a particularly disgruntled road tester who found that his Highlander Hybrid wouldn’t budge above 17 mpg, a particularly thirsty number, that’s nearly half of what I was able to manage. Part of the blame was due to wintery conditions, including temperatures that dipped as low as -13 F. By comparison, it’s been a comparably balmy 41 F outside, enough to make a big difference in heating its electrical gadgets up to operating temperature, meaning I was running on electric power sooner, relying less on gasoline.

It’s hard to convey my sense of satisfaction and excitement over driving a modern crossover and being dinged with a fuel bill that’s no larger than that of a compact car’s. It’s something you have to experience in person to truly appreciate. Over the past few years, Toyota has made hybrids accessible to more and more people, and the latest Highlander might be the best application of the system to date, with just about zero compromise. With outstanding fuel economy and affordable pricing wrapped in a better overall vehicle, Toyota has just about nullified any reason to not go green when considering a Highlander. It might have taken a couple of years, but Toyota’s hybrid progress won’t go ignored.