2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid review: 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid

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2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid

The 2008 model year update to the Toyota Highlander Hybrid took the unoriginal path, reflected by model updates across the industry, of making everything bigger. The new Highlander is higher and wider, giving more space inside but also increasing the weight, a counterintuitive design move with a hybrid. On the positive side, the EPA-rated fuel economy hasn't changed, even though the car uses the same power train as in previous years.

The new Highlander Hybrid gets a unique cabin feature: a standard small LCD display at the top of the dashboard stack, which displays the rear-view camera and hybrid system information. Navigation and a Bluetooth cell phone connection aren't available with the base model Highlander Hybrid; you will need to get the Limited model for those options. You can read about these options in our review of the nonhybrid 2008 Toyota Highlander Limited. Without the cabin gadgets, our Highlander Hybrid seemed a little bare. We enjoyed using the hybrid system, which comes with an EV mode switch, but the performance wasn't all we would have liked.

Test the tech: Los Angeles road trip
We happened to get the 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid in for our review the same week as the 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show, so we took the car on the approximately 800-mile round trip. As the car didn't have navigation, we borrowed a Garmin Nuvi from the office, affixing its clamp to the Highlander's windshield. We wouldn't stoop to using paper maps.

Our auto show crew included editors Wayne Cunningham and Kevin Massy, and photographer Sarah Tew. With luggage for three nights, we didn't exactly fill the large interior of the Highlander Hybrid. Noticing the lack of entertainment niceties, such as satellite radio and a rear-seat DVD player, we looked over the car's sticker to see what options we did have. It came with a package that included lots of little things, such as vanity lights for the sun visor mirrors and cloth trim for the third-row seat. But we had a hard time figuring out how all these little touches added up to the $4,435 price of the option. Although only the driver seat was power adjustable, we did find the broad and cushiony front and middle-row seats very comfortable for this road trip.

On the way to the Los Angeles Auto Show, we have our laptops out, ready to blog.

We derived some entertainment for the first part of the trip watching the small LCD show us information about the hybrid system. We could see the battery level, the energy flow, and the occasional electric vehicle mode indicator, a big "EV" in the center of the screen. But as we were sticking to the freeway, using 101 on the way down to Los Angeles, most of the energy flow was from the engine to the wheels. When we accelerated to pass or when climbing a hill, we could see the electric motor add its effort, and when we braked energy flowed back into the battery. Going over the winding path of 101, up and down hills along the coast at about 70 mph, the Highlander Hybrid got about 24 mpg, a little shy of its 25 mpg EPA highway rate.

When we had to give it the gas, the Highlander didn't exactly leap forward, but it did seem willing to go the distance. It would sedately accelerate, and that acceleration would carry on up whatever hill faced us. That type of performance is typical for continuously variable transmissions, which lack a hard gear where you can build up lots of revs. During our initial driving, we didn't think much of the Highlander Hybrid's cornering, as it felt top-heavy and exhibited a lot of body roll. But we got a chance to test its emergency maneuverability when what looked like a tire appeared in the road ahead. Kevin Massy, behind the wheel, made a quick veer into the center lane, dodging what turned out to be a tumbleweed. The Highlander Hybrid swayed in a disconcerting fashion, but stayed upright. Kevin commented that the car never felt out of his control during that incident.

On the way back, we took the faster Interstate 5, which took little to no advantage of the car's hybrid power train. With speeds often above 80 mph for the 400-mile trip, our fuel economy dipped down to 22 mpg. Although these numbers may sound disappointing given the EPA fuel economy, most full-size SUVs we've tested can't break 20 mpg. And the Highlander Hybrid's fuel economy will look really good in heavy traffic and low-speed city driving.

In the cabin
As we mentioned above, the 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid we received wasn't very teched out. If you want to read about the available cabin tech on the Highlander Hybrid Limited, please read our review of the 2008 Toyota Highlander Limited. Our base model Highlander Hybrid used some questionable material in the cabin, such as fake wood-grain plastic over the console. We had a little trouble getting a 12-volt adaptor out of one of the car's console power points, and as we tugged at it, we saw the plastic cover bend and pull upwards.

The Highlander's stereo uses this radio display, which shows ID3 tag information for MP3 tracks.

Our only tech feature of note in the cabin was the audio system, the interface of which uses oversized buttons and knobs. Even though the knobs for the system are massive, the fact that they are identical to the fan and vent knobs had us occasionally creating a mini windstorm when we just wanted to turn the volume up. The option package we had on our Highlander Hybrid bumped the CD player up to a six-disc changer. It reads MP3 CDs, displaying ID3 tag information on its green radio display. Although the radio display isn't very informative, we found it easy to move through folders on a CD with the big folder button. But you won't get track or folder lists with this system. There is an auxiliary input jack down at the bottom of the stack, too, with two 12-volt power points in proximity.

The audio system in this base model only uses six speakers, two tweeters in front and a woofer on each door. We were surprised how much bass came out of the speakers, but not in a good way. It wasn't a particularly deep bass, and it overwhelmed the sound quality. Even turning the bass down in the audio controls didn't help much. The result was some of the poorest audio quality we've heard in a car.

Under the hood
We covered the performance of the Highlander Hybrid on the freeway above. Its hybrid system uses a 3.3-liter V-6 combined with three motor generators to power all wheels. The 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid only comes in all-wheel-drive. This is the same power train as you will find in a Lexus RX400h. Toyota's hybrid power train components let the car drive in electric-only mode at low speeds, transparently turning the engine off when the car is stopped. One feature that's new to the Highlander Hybrid is an electric mode switch, which will keep the car running under electric power as long as possible. Once the battery gets too low, the engine will automatically kick in to generate electricity and drive the wheels.

Instead of a tachometer, the Highlander Hybrid has an electricity gauge.

Taking the engine and motors together, the power train delivers 270 horsepower, with 209 of that coming from the gas engine. The engine also brings 212 lb-ft. of torque to bear, complemented by 343 lb-ft. from the electric motors. But the motors only deliver that amount of torque at lower rpms, so you won't get a big boost when the car is already at speed.

The EPA fuel economy for this 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid is 27 mpg city and 25 mpg highway. In our cruising around San Francisco, the trip computer showed 27 mpg, consistent with the EPA numbers. But we were disappointed how rapidly the economy dropped once we got up to higher speeds on the freeway. But the fact it never dipped below 20 mpg is a good sign for long-term efficiency. On the green side of things, the Highlander Hybrid gets an emission rating of SULEV from the California Air Resources Board, one of the better ratings a car can get.

A button labeled "EV" on the console puts the car into electric vehicle mode.

The size and high center of gravity of the Highlander Hybrid means cornering can be a little scary. We were initially disconcerted by the amount of body roll, but found the car handled an emergency maneuver without a problem. Steering is relatively tight on the Highlander Hybrid, without a lot of play in the wheel.

In sum
Our test car was a 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid, with a base price of $33,700. It came with the Popular Plus package for a whopping $4,435, which includes the third-row seats, six-disc changer, and 19-inch wheels. Along with its $635 destination charge, the total came out to $38,820, a little too close to $40,000. Of course, if you want to spend more, you can start out with the 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited for $39,950. Fully optioned up with navigation, Bluetooth, and a decent stereo system, that one will run you $47,335, putting the Highlander Hybrid into a luxury vehicle price range. However, after trying out those cabin tech options in the Highlander Limited, we came away impressed.

With our test Highlander Hybrid, beside the hybrid power train, we didn't find too much special about it. We're a little disappointed that the Highlander has gotten bigger, as the older model seemed nicely proportioned. Also, the Highlander Hybrid has been virtually alone in the full-size hybrid SUV market (besides its luxury sibling, the Lexus RX400h), but it's about to get some serious competition with dual-mode hybrid GMC Yukons and Chevy Tahoes. If those cars can undercut the high price of the Highlander Hybrid, Toyota will have to rethink its strategy.