Sheryl...I'll save you the 'free registration' at the local newspaper...this was AP broadcasted so I dont think this is a copyright violation...
MARK GLOVER: New Toyota hybrid SUV gets mileage, power
The Sacramento Bee
Last Updated 11:54 am PDT Tuesday, April 19, 2005
(SH) - Tree huggers of the world: Rejoice, your sport-utility vehicle is here.
Well, maybe not. There certainly are dedicated environmentalists who probably would not be caught anywhere near an SUV. But I submit that many would be tempted by the 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid.
A week in a preproduction THH convinced me it would be the vehicle most likely to roll off the assembly line if the Sierra Club were in charge of production at Toyota Motor Corp.
However, I don't think Sierra Club's crew would have slapped a price of - deep breath now - $33,030 on a midsize SUV capable of transporting seven. That's the hefty starting price on the two-wheel-drive version that I tested. Opt for the four-wheel-drive Highlander Hybrid, and the starting fare climbs to $34,430.
Considering the good gas mileage and super-low emissions, isn't that too much money for this vehicle? Given what's in it, no. In fact, it's a comparative steal, compared with the Toyota Prius that starts at a shade less than $21,000.
Like the Prius, the Highlander Hybrid has Toyota's wondrous Hybrid Synergy Drive powertrain technology.
But where the Prius has a comparatively wimpy 1.5-liter, four-cylinder, 106-horsepower gas engine, the Highlander comes with a stout 3.3-liter V-6 with 208 horsepower. Two electric motor-generators on the front-wheel-drive SUV can boost peak horsepower to 268.
What does that mean for drivers? For one, it means dusting off other passenger cars and trucks trying to run you off the road as you attempt to merge into freeway traffic. I couldn't get enough of this. I somehow resisted the temptation to lean out the window and scream, "Green power!"
Performance is enhanced by the presence of variable valve timing in the V-6 and a sophisticated electronic throttle control system that wrings the most out what's under the hood.
One thing I never got used to was starting the vehicle. Turn the key in the ignition, and you're greeted with complete silence. No matter how many times I did this, I was sure I had broken the gas-electric SUV.
The only tip-off that everything is OK is a little dash light that reads, "ready." The silence is the result of the Highlander Hybrid not wasting energy until it's time to roll. And if you roll slowly, the electric motors do the work quietly. The gas engine kicks in only when the power curve becomes too much for the electrical propulsion system alone.
Like other full hybrids, the gas-electric Highlander's regenerative braking system and coasting enable its electric motors to function as generators, pumping some kinetic energy into the SUV's 288-volt nickel metal hydride battery pack.
Other mechanical goodies include an electronically controlled continuously variable transmission - which operates seamlessly - electronically enhanced brakes, vehicle stability control and traction control - all standard.
While you're computing what you might save as gas prices ascend ever nearer to $3 a gallon, it's worth noting that the Highlander Hybrid's $33,030 starting cost also includes a long list of standard convenience features. On the list: air conditioning with a cabin filtration system, power windows and door locks, a six-speaker sound system, remote keyless entry, a tonneau cover, cruise control, a roof rack and rear privacy glass.
The "green" Highlander also has standard equipment that is either optional or not available on a conventional, gas-powered Highlander - including an eight-way power driver's seat with power lumbar supports, front-seat side air bags and an engine immobilizer.
The tester looked good, too, with chrome accents front and rear and a nicely sculpted cargo-loading area.
Here's the scary part: The gas-electric Highlander is rated at 33 miles per gallon in city driving and 28 mpg on the highway (when the gas engine does the hard work), but my combined average for the week came in at 34 mpg.
It's not in my nature to baby a test car, and maybe this preproduction model had some extra engineering. But a 34 mpg average in a midsize SUV is almost beyond belief.
One thing you should not do in the Highlander Hybrid: Transport seven people.
Yes, Toyota is loudly broadcasting the fact that this is the auto industry's first seven-passenger hybrid SUV, but I'm urging you to resist the temptation. It's a squeeze, enough to make me wish they had thrown out the third row seat. Happily, however, it folds flat to the floor to make ample room for cargo.
Toyota had to boost production of its Prius passenger car to handle its high demand in the United States. Expect the Highlander Hybrid to be just as popular when it starts showing up in numbers in June.
