Video Review: Toyota Highlander Hybrid Offers Room and Fuel Economy

A LONG weekend will tell you something about a vehicle. Thorough assessment requires adding a bunch of teenage boys and their athletic gear, carting everything 500 miles and amassing a landfill’s worth of fast-food wrappers. To get my son and his two friends from Seattle to an Ultimate Frisbee tournament in Corvallis, Ore., I took Toyota’s Highlander Hybrid.

Vans have more space for people and cargo, but fashion-forward families want crossovers. Taking the hybrid, instead of a gas-only Highlander, to Oregon was a calculated decision. While diesels and hybrids have been the two methods of maximizing fuel economy, prospects have become cloudy for diesel in the United States given the recent revelation that Volkswagen cheated on emissions testing with diesel cars. But I had my doubts about large hybrids.

With past-generation Highlanders, I never saw a significant difference in gas mileage between hybrid and gas-only models. The opportunity for a real-world hybrid test was fortuitous.

First, some numbers. The Environmental Protection Agency rates the fuel economy of a V6 all-wheel-drive Highlander at 18 city and 24 highway. Hybrid models score 27 city and 28 highway. These numbers are often, shall we say, optimistic. Keep in mind I transported 350 pounds of teenage boys, around 175 pounds of luggage, support gear for the tournament and camera equipment to shoot the video that goes with this review.

Averaging around 70 miles an hour to Corvallis, the laden Highlander matched the E.P.A. highway rating of 27 miles per gallon. Early the next morning, I pointed the Highlander toward its natural habitat, the suburbs, to determine city gas mileage. Gingerly driving for 30 minutes around a small development with moderate hills and stop signs, I saw 31 m.p.g. (and a few nervous residents perhaps thinking I was casing their neighborhood). That’s 13 m.p.g. over the V6 Highlander city rating and 3 miles per gallon above the hybrid’s E.P.A. score.

Unfortunately, the system adds about $6,200 to the cost of the vehicle. With gas cheap, that premium is a tough sell. Starting at $48,750, a Limited model bumps up against $52,000 with all major options. There are additional advantages to the hybrid, though. Power is generated through coasting and braking, so a hybrid’s brake shoes tend to last longer. The 3.5-liter V6 and two electric motor/generators produce a total 280 horsepower, a bit more than the gas-only model.

Little, if any, space is taken up by the nickel metal hydride battery under the midrow chairs. Like most hybrids, the transmission is continuously variable. All-wheel drive is standard; an electric motor drives the rear wheels.

All Highlanders get a good-looking interior, at least in Limited trim. The center console swallows a 15-inch laptop, and the long shelf in the dash is a handy place for necessities (which can make the space look cluttered). Midrow chairs slide fore and aft to show those in back a little love with more legroom. That third row is mounted low to the floor, so passengers’ knees are up high. Adults will avoid those seats on long trips.

The Highlander is quiet, comfortable and, to my eye, the best-looking vehicle Toyota produces. Its hybrid system more than lives up to its claims. If only its efficiency was more affordable.