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Hybrid SUV a tight fit, except at pump

Jim Mateja

July 6, 2008

2008 Toyota Highlander 4WD hybrid

Like Kermit said, it's not easy to be green.

While most automakers are reducing output of midsize and full-size sport-utility vehicles as consumers flee the gas-guzzlers, we opted to test one SUV that deserves to be produced in greater numbers: the 2008 Toyota Highlander hybrid.

When powered by a 3.5-liter, 270-horsepower V-6 gas engine alone, Highlander is rated at 18 m.p.g. city and 24 m.p.g. highway. With a 3.3-liter V-6 and a nickel-metal-hydride battery pack for a combined 270 h.p., the rating swells to 27/25. The city side benefits most, of course, because the hybrid starts and keeps going at low speeds in battery mode without any need for gas. It also shuts the gas engine off at the stoplight rather than wasting fuel idling.

The Highlander hybrid comes with two information gauges, one small in the top of the dash that tells when in gas or electric mode plus a ballpark mileage estimate of m.p.g.—from zero to 60, nice touch.

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The other is a very large one in the navigation system screen that pinpoints what's running the SUV—batteries or gas or both—plus an average m.p.g. reading.

Toyota says it's possible to stay in battery mode for up to 30 to 35 m.p.h., enough to tool around most cities without consuming an ounce of liquid gold.

Then, Toyota brings up the asterisk (*).

You can squeeze optimum mileage from the vehicle:

* If it's warm outside, because batteries tend to be slackers in cold weather;

* If you stay on flat roads, because climbing hills takes more energy than rolling down;

* And if you apply your foot to the gas pedal as if it were molten metal because the harder you press, the more fuel consumed.

With that in mind we set off. After a short time, we could get to 25 m.p.h. before the gas kicked in. With a little tender loving care—and roads that slanted downhill—we were able to nurse the batteries at 41 m.p.h., a reasonable speed on any 45 m.p.h. or lower road, though one that invites many motorists to honk, flash, wave a finger, and/or pass in contempt.

While traveling at length at 41 m.p.h. without putting a dime, much less a dollar, in the pocket of any sheik or petroleum company CEO, we can relate to Kermit.

Attempting to be green comes at a price—constant attention to pedal pressure, constant seeking opportunities to coast and avoiding any incline in the road.

You think roads look level?

The instant the pavement slants upward the orange arrows in the navi system flash on to show the gas engine has awakened. Conservation takes concentration.

But the extra 9 m.p.g. city is a huge gain for an SUV that holds seven people and their gear—providing you spend a lot of time tooling around in stop-and-go traffic to justify the hybrid premium.

Where it paid a huge dividend was on a trip to the Wisconsin Dells and back.

The westbound lanes of Interstate 94 were under water near Johnson City, so traffic was reduced to one lane in each direction on eastbound side.

The partial road closing created 8 miles of bumper-to-bumper driving just to get to the spot where the lanes merged.