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Hybrid Vehicles Toyota Highlander Hybrid Toyota Highlander Hybrid MPG-Real World Numbers
417 messages, Last post on Oct 16, 2009 at 11:34 AM
You are in the Toyota Highlander Hybrid Forum. Your Host is pf_flyer
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Replying to: stevedebi (Jun 28, 2005 11:41 am) apples and oranges. Ken
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Replying to: toyotaken (Jun 28, 2005 11:58 am)  36 inches), you will have almost the same cargo capacity in the two vehicles. Many people get confused by the exterior sizes; the Highlander looks bigger, but the CR-V has a simply amazing use of the interior space. The Highlander is larger, but not as much as it appears on the outside. I should also point out that the Highlander ICE is also available with an I4 as the base engine. They weigh almost the exact same, and the I4 engines have almost identical power and torque. However, with the CR-V, you can get all of the top-of-the line add-ons with an I4; I believe that Toyota only offers the high end items with the V6. I cross shopped the Highlander in 2003, and choose the CR-V. I preferred the Honda due to the driving characteristics and general interior layout. I especially like the CR-V turning radius of 33.8 feet, as opposed to the Highlander at 37.4. The vehicle is nimble. The only thing correct about your comparison is the 3rd seat. You didn't mention the towing capacities, where the Toyota has the advantage, but then the Honda wasn't really meant for towing. Toyota tunes their suspension for ride, while Honda tunes for performance. It is a matter of preference. The ride is the main reason I went with the CR-V. To get back on topic, the problem with any SUV hybrid is the weight and large frontal area. It is going to drag down the MPG every time. The fact that Toyota didn't mate the hybrid with the I4 is a serious detriment to MPG. The resulting hybrid is disappointing, when you consider that an ICE only vehicle in the same vehicle class can come close to the same mileage.
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Replying to: stevedebi (Jun 28, 2005 1:08 pm) To stay on topic, in my humble opinion, (and others as well) it would take way too many years to save enough fuel to make economic sense of the current Hybrid costs. I suspect that most purchasers are buying for the technology, and cross shopping more expensive SUVs than CR-Vs or gas highlanders...I am fascinated/enamored with the technology myself, and if I could justify 40K for a vehicle, I might have considered it....I just can't justify it....Remember, the Hybrid highlander also has significant gains in performance. just my 2 cents
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Replying to: jbollt (Jun 28, 2005 1:20 pm) I was impressed by the Highlander, and it did ride very smoothly. But I found the Honda I4 peppier (I think they have a newer I4 now than in 2003). I wouldn't want anyone thinking that I was anti-Highlander. It is a matter of preference. Like you, I cannot find myself justifying 36-40K for a vehicle just to get the technology. But Toyota could have built for better MPG, by using the I4 instead of the V6 for the HH.
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Replying to: stevedebi (Jun 28, 2005 1:26 pm) I guess the marketing folks at toyota were trying to hedge their bets- not banking solely on the HP junkies or the greenies. "it gets good gas mileage and as a side benefit, it has lots of punch." or "I like the HP of this SUV, and the good gas mileage is icing on the cake." I personally would have liked to have seen the highlander geared more towards gas mileage and the RX more towards performance. but no one at toyota asked me 
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Replying to: stevedebi (Jun 28, 2005 1:26 pm) The CRV is very nice-a typical Honda-fuel efficient, well designed,good ergos.what's not to like!?It is classed as a SMALL SUV so I didn't consider it much.In AWD version CReports shows it as getting 15mpg in their harsh city loop,and 29mpg in their hy loop.I can backup the pitiful city mpg that all midsized SUV's get.The 10 mpg "better" is assuming 75% city. The Highlander is about the same-just a little bigger Honda CRV 181" LONG,70" WIDE-AWD 3600 LBS Highlander 184" long, 72" wide-AWD 4000LBS. Honda CR-V CReports AWD 15 CITY 29HY Toyota Highlander V-6 AWD 13 CITY 25 HY I'm very curious what sort of numbers CR gets for the AWD HH.My guess 21city 32 hy for the AWD version.CR's city loop is very,very "CITY".I bet most HH folks will get 23-27 mpg time after time on their everday driving.A Prius gets 35 city in CR's harsh city loop(a Corolla gets 20,I think).I The 10 mpg better is my distillation of what most midsized SUV's get if they spend a lot of time in the city-like I do-say 75% city. A $38000 HH will break even over a $30000 Highlander(or any other midsized with city mpg like the Highlander V-6) at about 120000 miles-ignoring tax breaks,and ignoring the $$ you could make on that $8000.It also assumes $2.50/gal gasoline.$2.50 is probably too low for the average price of gas over the next 6-7 years,but who knows??It also assumes 15vs 25mpg. Now you are also getting one of the fastest SUVs on the road!The ZILLION dollar Porche is quicker-the Armada is about the same 7.2(and 10 mg city)..It is much faster than-Trailblazer-;Highlander V-6;Pilot;Tahoe:Suburban;Explorer;Expedition;Durango;Excursion;Toureg;EscaladeMost MB; The HH is a Q-ship!Not a big concern for socially responsible folks,but still nice to be able to accelerate and get ahead of someone who won't let you come over when you need to change lanes for an offramp!! 10 mpg difference and 120000 miles still seem right to me.Charlie
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Replying to: phoebeisis (Jun 28, 2005 3:06 pm) You will find that the CR-V is listed as a mid-size SUV, due to the interior volume. The original quote compared it to a Toyota Echo, a totally bad comparison. While a bit smaller externally than the HH, the internal sizes are close enough that they can be used for the same purposes, with the exception of that third row. Your MPG quotations are for the CR-V FWD. For reference, I get about 22 in town, 27 at 80 MPH, and over 30 at 60-65. The 2005 model has a new 5 speed transmission, which probably does better than my 2003 4 speed in town. Consumer Reports is notorious about gunning the engine on their vehicles. I do not use their numbers for that reason. I used the real world numbers as reported on this site. I am basing my comments about the difference on what people have posted as real world mileage: as low as 28 MPG, that is actual mileage. But I will grant a generous 5 MPG over my CR-V. It still takes a long time to recover the cost of hybridization. I actually think that your "10 MPG" is too low when compared to, say, a Ford Explorer. But I was comparing it to my CR-V, driven conservatively. You have to remember that the CR-V, even the top-of-the line SE, can be had for under 23K. That is at least 15K less than your minimum for HH, and about 17K less than most people seem to be reporting. Trying to recover 15K dollars with only 5 MPG mileage improvement is very difficult.
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Replying to: otis1 (Jun 28, 2005 2:01 pm) I tried my best to tart up a gas only Highlander Limited 4WD on the Toyota website to match the equivalent Hybrid model and the difference in MSRP was around $2500. This is about $1000 more than the difference in price between getting a V6 and a V8 in a 4-Runner. To my understanding, unlike Honda, fuel economy has never been the prime objective in Toyota's Hybrid designs. It just comes along for the ride. The objective with the HH was V8 performance with a V6, so you could consider this a $1000 premium for a vehicle that gets better fuel economy and runs much cleaner than the standard V6 model. If you consider the fuel economy it would get with a V8, so much the better. Of course this doesn't take into account incentives and discounts available on the gas only model that are not available on the Hybrid or included "options" that you may not want. This was done using a Central Atlantic Zip code and options packages vary by region, so your mileage may vary. |
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Replying to: stevedebi (Jun 28, 2005 6:20 pm) The CR-V is a fine SUV.It can be the smallest midsized SUV in the Phoebeisis lineup! Everyone is now happy.Thanks.Charlie PS What will my Pilot be now that the CR-V is midsized?? |
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Replying to: phoebeisis (Jun 28, 2005 9:17 pm) This type of 'in your face' mockery belongs elseware.... This site is productive for all participants if we dispense with the 'commentary' and stick to the subject matter.
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