Conventional wisdom tells us hybrid versions of things, like the 2011 Toyota Highlander Hybrid before us, don't make financial sense. Sure, the good ones use a lot less fuel than their conventional gasoline counterparts, but they cost more to buy, too.
It can take serious time for gas savings to make up the difference. Our spreadsheets tell us that paybacks approaching 10 years are common. Some break-even points push laughingly past 20 years.
Cold calculations are hard to argue with, but conventional wisdom is missing something.
Crossover Cross-Shoppers
Say you're shopping along the border between minivans and crossover SUVs. That's pretty conventional. After all, they're called crossovers for a reason.
You want a decent-sized third-row seat, if only to carpool kids to school and tote the in-laws to dinner when they visit. You'd take four-wheel drive if you could get it. But minivans are anything but "mini" these days — 200 inches long is the new norm — and only the Toyota Sienna offers all-wheel drive. None are hybrids, which irks you a little.
The 2011 Toyota Highlander Hybrid has a new 3.5-liter V6 engine and is rated at 28 mpg on the EPA's combined scale. It comes standard with a third-row seat. It has electrically operated 4WD. A Limited grade like ours starts at $43,755.
Conventional wisdom would pit this against its V6 gasoline equivalent, the 2011 Highlander Limited 4WD, which costs some $6,600 less. It consumes fuel at an average pace of 19 mpg. All of this boils down to an iffy hybrid payback time of 7.4 years.
But since you're dithering between a crossover and a minivan, let's bring that AWD Sienna minivan back into the picture. We'll stick with the Limited grade to stay close on equipment. At $40,780, this Sienna starts out $2,975 less than the Highlander Hybrid and has a rated fuel economy of 18 mpg.
Compared to Toyota's minivan, the Highlander Hybrid break-even point approaches the 3-year mark. Savings kick in after that, especially if gas prices rise. If you're prepared to spend minivan money anyway, the 2011 Toyota Highlander Hybrid starts to make a kind of sense.
Why This Works
This rational case for a hybrid crossover SUV only pencils out because the 2011 Highlander Hybrid has been substantially improved over the last year in certain crucial areas. Yes, we know; the sheet metal is essentially unchanged — this is a midcycle refresh, not an all-new generation. The key point here is that last year's 3.3-liter V6 has been replaced with a stouter 3.5-liter V6.
Speed is all well and good, but the payoff in the cost equation comes from increased fuel economy.
Because of the hybrid application, this isn't the same 3.5-liter V6 that "normal" Highlanders have had for a few years. This one runs on the Atkinson cycle, a more fuel-efficient variant of the four-stroke cycle. The benefits only exist over a relatively narrow rpm band, but that's cool here because the hybrid continuously variable transmission (CVT) can more or less choose any ratio it needs to keep Mr. Atkinson in his happy place.
Running by itself, this new engine peaks at 231 horsepower — 22 more than the old 3.3-liter. But there are electric motors in play, and they boost peak power to 280 hp — 10 more than the 2010 Highlander Hybrid's net rating. Meanwhile, the non-hybrid 2011 Highlander's non-Atkinson 3.5-liter V6 still makes 270 hp.
As you might expect, more total power makes the 2011 Toyota Highlander Hybrid quicker. It now scoots to 60 mph in 7.4 seconds (7.1 with 1 foot of rollout as on a drag strip), a half-second speedier than the last one we tested. The quarter-mile tells a similar story, where 15.4 seconds at 91.1 mph represents an improvement of 0.4 second.
Speed is all well and good, but the payoff in the cost equation comes from increased fuel economy. Our 2011 Toyota Highlander Hybrid delivers this, too, thanks to the new engine and improved efficiencies in the hybrid drive system itself. The 2011 model's EPA city, highway and combined fuel economies are now all tied up at 28 mpg apiece. Last year's 3.3-liter Highlander Hybrid scored 26 mpg combined, with 27 mpg coming from the city and only 25 mpg coming from highway driving.
Cargo Maximization With Three Rows
All 2011 Highlanders, hybrid or otherwise, now come standard with that third-row seat you want. But last year's seat had another problem: It was a one-piece all-or-nothing job when folding time came. Past Highlander owners sighed mightily and drove off in a huff every time they walked out of Costco with odd-shaped cargo.
Not anymore. The new rearmost seat is now split 50/50 down the middle, so four can still ride with one-half of the second and third rows folded for those long items. What's more, handy second- and third-row release levers are found right there in the hatch area.
We've always liked the Highlander's 40/20/40 second row. It reclines, it slides back and forth, and the central "20" section is removable (and stowable onboard) to create a center aisle and separate buckets with fold-down armrests. There are lots of clever ideas in here.
With all rear seats folded flat, maximum cargo space is 94 cubic feet, with 42.3 feet of that available behind the second row. Only 10.3 cubes are available behind the third row, but that jumps to 26.3 when one half is folded, as can now be done as of this year.
Is there as much space as a minivan? No way. But this is still a decent amount to work with. Besides, if you're cross-shopping on the border, you're probably not 100 percent committed to the minivan concept and you're probably OK with this.
Other Sides of Other Coins
With the same tires and suspension underneath, the 2011 Highlander Hybrid drives about the same as before. We observed the same impeccably smooth and quiet ride, reasonable coordination and modest limits as before. As if to underscore the point, it slithers through our slalom at 60.2 mph and pulls 0.77g on our skid pad.
But the electric power steering is overly dead and lifeless. The Highlander Hybrid changes direction when we turn the wheel, but that's the only way to know it's connected to anything because there's precious little sensory feedback through the column. Bring your own pulse because you won't find one here.
As expected, the regenerative braking system emits the same faint keening produced by every other Toyota hybrid. There's nothing wrong — that's just what it sounds like when it's doing its hybrid trick and plowing braking energy back into the battery. In a panic stop, the added contribution of four-wheel disc brakes stops the show in 120 feet from 60 mph — quite respectable for a crossover SUV riding on low-rolling-resistance tires.
The aforementioned four-wheel-drive system isn't true four-wheel drive. The Highlander Hybrid is primarily a front-drive machine; the rear wheels are driven exclusively by another electric motor and there's no driveshaft connected to the transmission. Since the battery pack is small (this isn't a plug-in hybrid, after all), the amount of rear-drive assist is best imagined in tens of seconds, not tens of minutes. There's enough to get going from a slippery intersection — the system engages when and if front-wheel slip is detected — but the rear-drive unit is not built to produce a prolonged boost up a long, slippery hill.
Making Sense of Things
This 2011 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited won over more fans than we expected during its short stay with us. One staffer's wife is already angling to trade her minivan in for one.
And why not? The interior is flexible and comfortable, it finally has a useful third row and interior controls don't get any more logical or easier to use than these. It may not tickle the enthusiast's fancy, but the 2011 Highlander Hybrid is a very well-rounded and well thought-out family crossover that just happens to be a 28-mpg hybrid.
Need the maximum possible cargo space? OK, the 2011 Toyota Highlander Hybrid may not be for you. Have enough parking space for something 200 inches long? Great. There are plenty of other bigger choices out there. Not interested in the hybrid concept? That's fine — you can save money on the front end of the transaction and drive home happy.
But we know that many of you are wavering between minivans and crossover SUVs. Some of you wish they were more hybrid choices. If you're going into this with a minivan budget but can make do with a little less size and space, the reworked 2011 Toyota Highlander Hybrid starts to make a good deal of sense.
The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.
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cpsdarren says:
10:44 AM, 06/08/2011
I ended up buying a 2011 Highlander Hybrid at the end of March before prices went up and inventories disappeared. Sticker price was about 5k more than a similarly equipped V6 base Highlander AWD with the tech package. Paid $300 over invoice a the time which wasn't bad for a dark color, though I had seen white and silver going for less than invoice price when dealers had more on the lots. With the low supplies coming from Japan, high gas prices and the top rating from Consumer Reports, they are difficult to find right now, at least around Chicago.
In my first tank I got just over 30mpg in 500 mixed city/highway miles. On my second tank that was almost all driving around the suburbs with many short trips, it was 31 mpg over 500 miles. Computer and actual were within a few tenths on both tanks. As mentioned already, no other 3-row vehicle with a V6 comes close to the overall fuel economy. The closest I found were the 4-cylinder, 2WD versions of smaller SUVs like Outlander, Rav4 and Sorrento that get 10-15% less at 24-25 mpg overall. The 2012 Mazda 5 is similar in size and also gets 24mpg overall and the same 28mpg highway as the Highlander Hybrid, but a bit worse even than those smaller SUVs around town at only 21mpg. It also lacks a V6 and AWD found on the Highlander Hybrid, though many people don't need either or those.
I'm happy with the base model that had all the major features I wanted without stuff I didn't want, like moonroof, leather, power hatch, fake wood, auto climate, etc. NHTSA and IIHS safety ratings are good all around. Backup cam and bluetooth with streaming audio are standard. Quiet and smooth ride, too.
I'm found the HiHy to be somewhat undersized vs. competitive SUVs like Pilot, Flex or Acadia and maybe even the CX-9. As it is, the third row is barely big enough for small kids. Bluetooth works well, but the voice interface is cumbersome compared to other vehicles, as are things like importing contacts. They did hit the front end of the hybrid with the ugly stick, but the rest of the van and interior look fine.
marksrig says:
11:21 PM, 03/22/2011
I recently bought the 2011 Highlander Hybrid and have run 2 tanks of gas through it. It has been getting the reported 28 MPG as advertised in town. The best milage according to the display was 31.4. I have yet to tally up the real world figures with a calculator but am pretty sure they aren't too far off. The better milage I got was while in econ mode and of course keeping my foot out of the throttle except when really needed. My only concern so far for this car is wether the 4WD/AWD will be able to actually get me up the road from my driveway in the snow covered winter. My city doesnt plow my street until it hits the main road, and this systems seems a bit lacking. We'll see come winter how it does. I'll report back what I find.
ljmiii says:
10:20 AM, 11/15/2010
So...I bit the bullet and traded in my 2006 HiHy for a 2011 HiHy a few weeks ago.
Pros:
I'm getting 29MPG on the highway and 27 in the city. Amazing for a 7 passenger AWD vehicle.
The Ipod and AUX integration works really well. The XM radio is also sweet...but given that I have an ipod with 30GB of music/books I doubt I'll shell out the $500 for a lifetime XM subscription.
The new Nav systems does a much better job of telling you which lane to be in as highways and exits approach. There were a number of times where the old system would say 'turn left' and what it really meant was "the hwy is splitting, you want the left side BUT DON'T TAKE THE LEFT EXIT...too late"
The XM Traffic reporting is kind of cool...but it works on few roads (particularly compared to Acura/BMW/Audi) and costs $500 for five years (no lifetime is offered). So thats a no until the coverage dramatically improves or the cost dramatically drops.
The backup camera is all too useful. Which leads me to the Cons...
Cons:
The 2011 HiHy is HUGE. It is no longer a crossover and is now officially an SUV. It drives like a truck, has truck seats, and a truck interior.
I hate how the equipment packages lay out - to get leather seats (a must for my wife) you have to get a jillion useless things (sunroof, power liftgate, accent lighting, etc.)
And just a lot of little things that just scream "1st year of new generation vehicle." For some unknown reason there are 3rd and 4th cupholders in between the driver and passenger and less storage. The 2nd row cupholders are no longer accessible by children. The heated seat controls which should be 'push/pull for on/off and spin for temp' are for some reason 'push/pull does nothing so you always have to spin to a new temp when you turn them on/off.' If the headlights are set to 'Auto' turning off the car or pressing the lock button on the remote doesn't turn off the lights (no matter what the manual says). Etc., etc.
They couldn't be bothered to match the carpet and dash to the interior color. And the excess of chrome in the controls means that the 'Black/chrome/wood/beige' interior is WOW ugly. Which leads me to...
Yes, bearsdkillz, they whacked this SUV with an ugly stick inside and out.
johnswen says:
05:02 AM, 10/08/2010
We bought a new Base AWD Highlander last year with the 3.5L V6 engine. Yeah, I wish it had a few of the fancy options, like a backup camera and Bose sound system. But we paid just UNDER $30K before tax and license. Reading the prices in this review, that seems like a great deal now. I have no regrets. It's a great car. I don't understand why so many people in these comments bash the Highlander - I think it's pretty cool. The best CUV out there for under $50K.
We've had a Pruis for the past six years, so we know what we're missing in terms of the Toyota hybrid experience. I wish we had the HiHy, but no way is it worth $15K more - or even $5K more. I'd pay $3K more.
Our non-hybrid V6 Highlander also has a towing capacity of 5,000 lbs, which is 1,500 more than the hybrid version. That's important to us, since we tow a modest-size trailer on summer trips.
lyse says:
01:49 AM, 10/04/2010
AJT123 should tell the millions of peopl worldwide who buy Toyota's that Toyota is apparently beneath Honda and Nissan. I can understand his theory though, since it's beyond his comprehension.
supersam378 says:
02:01 PM, 09/30/2010
This would look pretty good... if I had no life. It's a hybrid, it's a Toyota, what more can I say?
makakio says:
04:22 PM, 09/29/2010
Haven't done the hybrid, but just took a trip in a new '10 Limited AWD model up the CA coast. Spent four hours in it and aside from a few too many electrical assists and nannies (IMO) this is a very nice, well-powered, able handling, comfortable SUV at $34k OUT THE DOOR (that's a loaded Limited, folks).
ljmiii says:
08:29 PM, 09/27/2010
Anyone who thinks the HiHy is overpriced just isn't looking at the competition. What else out there seats 7, has AWD and gets decent mileage? That ideally can tow a small trailer?
Toyota HiHy - 28MPG mid $40,000s
BMW X5 X5d - 22MPG low $60,000s
Chevy Tahoe Hy 21MPG mid $50,000s
Audi Q7 TDI - 20MPG low $60,000s
MB E350 wagon 19MPG low $60,000s
Mazda CX-9 - 19MPG low $40,000s
Chevy Traverse 19MPG low $40,000s
Ford Flex - 18MPG mid $40,000s
Goodness knows I've been looking. If I drop the requirement for seating down to 5 than a few more choices pop up (e.g. the Subaru Outback 2.5i - 24MPG low $30,000s) but even then it is only if I drop the requirement for AWD that can I get fuel economy better than the HiHy.
It annoys me to no end - I love my 2006 HiHy but I detest the thought of having to ever deal with another Toyota dealership/service department again.
mazdaa says:
07:50 PM, 09/27/2010
The Toyota Highlander starts at 27390$ which is pretty cheap 4 a 3 row SUV. You can get it loaded at 34180$ with leather, the V6 engine, ipod (USB), bluetooth, backup camera, moonroof etc.. I think it's a reasonable price.
charlesb says:
10:43 PM, 09/26/2010
You'd have to want to stay out of a minivan in the worst way to buy one of these.