Highlander Hybrid Impressions
 

I know the eco-conscious around here are going to groan ("hybrid tanks"), but that's what I'm looking at. It appears the car I really wanted (Ford Escape Hybrid) is already bought but still physically at the dealer. Mind, the guy said "There were two salesmen who were making a deal on this car but they're not here so I'll call you tomorrow and tell you whether the deal is actually going to go through."

Could be the dealer gaming me. If not, my first choice of ride is now out the window. Note: I have a string bass and a giant computer that need to fit in here. If I join a community orchestra, the bass will need to continue to fit. Towing requirements nixed the Prius I was looking at (zero LBS officially). I will not do "kits" to add towing when the automaker says "no tow."

Anyway, what is the general impression of the 2006 Highlander Hybrid? Edmunds suggests 25MPG, other sites say up to 30MPG is possible. There are horror stories about batteries failing, but I have a feeling this is the "people complain more than praise anything on the internet" principle kicking in...

Sheesh, I get 25 in an Element without trying that hard. You should definitely be able to do better than that in a Highlander.

How about a Ford Transit Connect? Plenty of room for the string bass, modular design, four cylinder.

21/26 mpg rated. No need to go hybrid, just drive it right.

2011 Ford Transit Connect Vehicle | The Right Commercial Van For All Kinds of Cargo | Ford.com

I volunteered in Bryce Canyon NP last Fall with another Bay Area couple who own a Highlander hybrid. They drove it very slowly - 45 mph to a dinner 75 miles away - but were short of 30 mpg for their trip to Utah.

Mike (the husband) and I took turns driving the park's Prius. I beat his mpg by about 10%. He'd get 55 mpg, I'd get 60. Or he'd get 60, I'd get 65 mpg. He wasn't doing anything wrong driving the Prius, so I conclude the Highlander is a FSP. Mike said its HSD worked just like the Prius.

I've heard of folks getting 60 mpg with the Escape hybrid. I'd hold out for that if I were you.

FSP means what?

Fuel sucking pig.

Haha. The Escape Hybrid is gone--still listed but a done deal as of last week.

So Highlanders it is. Call me shallow, but a Ford Transit Connect just doesn't appeal to me. Also, these Highlanders are being listed well below KBB/Edmunds, and are loaded to boot.

Sorry to threadbump: Got a 2006 Highlander Limited 4x4 w/43k miles. Managed 34.1MPG on a combined city/highway trip out to the dealer to deliver the credit union's check, 21MPG on "those crappy little trips" (four trips to the post office less than a mile away because I'm an idiot).

Learned coasting > braking in terms of regeneration. I mean, if you drain the battery all the way and the ICE has to recharge it, you're defeating the point, right?

First let me offer what seems to be missing:

CONGRATULATIONS!

I have only test driven the Ford Escape hybrid and probably one of a dozen, Saturn VUE two-mode, pre-production SUVs and they are very nice rides. Two of my highly respected hybrid friends, Patrick Wong and GeorgiaHybrid both have Highlander hybrids. IMHO, the FSP comment was made by . . . lets leave it at that.

Have you bought the Toyota shop manuals and electrical schematics from Toyota? I know they are expensive but worth it (well at least to me.)

Does your Highlander include a house power inverter?

The reason I ask is today I've been getting the "glue" to add a 1.5/3..0 kW inverter to my wife's 2010 Prius. In another day or so, I'll have the first version ready for testing.

What sort of OBD reader/reccorder do you have (or planed?) I've been using AutoEnginuity and ScanGauge II. Given it is a somewhat rare hybrid, the options are limited but the unanswered question is 'what are your goals and objects.'

Like I posted before, congratulations on a neat find and best of luck!

Bob Wilson

So far, I just bought a car :P I don't have shop manuals or electrical diagrams either. My current goal is to get as much out of it as possible without modding it (yet) since I don't have the money to spend on those types of things (yet). I'm just going off the base Toyota instrumentation. I'd hope that's more accurate than my father's "40MPG = 25MPG" Chevy Impala's fuel monitor.

It has two cigarette style power outlets up front but I haven't really read the owner's manual enough to know whether the second one is special (I did see something about household current style inverters in HHs somewhere).