Highlander Hybrid?

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I've always steered away from hybrids. The Car Angel is really high on the Highlander Hybrid. Do any of you have one? Are you happy with it? He said the front feels heavy.
 
My boss had a 2014 or 15 and really liked it a lot until he gave it to his MIL. I don't think he ever tried to pick up the front end....

Now he has a RAV4 hybrid that he doesn't like as much as the Highlander but his wife does.
 
I hear you. Before a family member offered to sell me the Highlander in my sig, I was looking for ICE Honda CRVs. Had this Highlander not had a reliable engine, with a great maintenance history, I'm sure I would have turned it down.

After I bought it, I took it to my mechanic, and he said that he and his son have never had to work on a Toyota hybrid/traction battery, so I should expect a long life out of it. I'm with AZjeff, never tried picking up the front end.
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Honestly couldn't tell you anything about it.

I absolutely would not get a vehicle just because it is a hybrid, but if you want a vehicle that size anyways, go for it.

The turning radius is noticeably longer with my hybrid, than with my sienna, which surprised me, b/c I believe the highlander is shorter. Other than that, I have nothing bad to say about it.

Originally Posted by Gebo
I've always steered away from hybrids.
 
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The biggest issue with Toyota hybrids and many others is if the battery dies, the car is undriveable. Replacement batteries are $2-6K or more. The LI batteries of newer models are better than the older NMH, so a 10 year old Highlander could become a paperweight if the battery goes out.
 
No kidding. The Prius has been in the US since 2000 and the massive battery fail predicted by the automotive Luddites has yet to happen.

According to quite a few online sources a Prius will drive fine with a bad battery. Apparently in the real world they're lasting 12-15 years and you can get rebuilt ones for around $1000.

You can read stories of guys buying dead Prius(es)? for nothing and either replacing cells or getting a rebuilt battery and motoring on for cheap.
 
Toyota makes hybrids better than anyone else and have been doing this for long.
What they did was a cardinal mistake to not go into full electric with all their learnings with batteries.
They lost it to Tesla and apparently 7000 companies that are in the Japanese ICE ecosystem and scared out of their minds.
If anyone could build a great electric it would have been Toyota, it just was caught off gaurd by the Tesla wave.
 
Originally Posted by MaximaGuy
Toyota makes hybrids better than anyone else and have been doing this for long.
What they did was a cardinal mistake to not go into full electric with all their learnings with batteries.
They lost it to Tesla and apparently 7000 companies that are in the Japanese ICE ecosystem and scared out of their minds.
If anyone could build a great electric it would have been Toyota, it just was caught off gaurd by the Tesla wave.




The American consumer still wants a decent range in between fill ups or recharging. Tesla is not there yet.

As for pure electric vehicles, Toyota is well advanced in that sector. The latest alliance with Panasonic after their shun of Elon is going to have an effect. Just wait.
 
Originally Posted by PimTac

The American consumer still wants a decent range in between fill ups or recharging. Tesla is not there yet.

As for pure electric vehicles, Toyota is well advanced in that sector. The latest alliance with Panasonic after their shun of Elon is going to have an effect. Just wait.


Tesla is not there are so are the others promising electrics when it comes to range. It is a process of innovation - the ICE fuel economies have dramatically improved since the 70s with regulation, innovation etc etc.

Toyota will play second fiddle, its like saying one is going to create another Starbucks, no that spot is already taken.
 
Originally Posted by MaximaGuy
Originally Posted by PimTac

The American consumer still wants a decent range in between fill ups or recharging. Tesla is not there yet.

As for pure electric vehicles, Toyota is well advanced in that sector. The latest alliance with Panasonic after their shun of Elon is going to have an effect. Just wait.


Tesla is not there are so are the others promising electrics when it comes to range. It is a process of innovation - the ICE fuel economies have dramatically improved since the 70s with regulation, innovation etc etc.

Toyota will play second fiddle, its like saying one is going to create another Starbucks, no that spot is already taken.

There is a flip side to range anxiety...
Every day our Model 3 starts with a full tank.
While not for everyone, it is an incredible car.
 
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A few weeks ago a local car dealership group did a drive and compare, They brought to one site about 8 different suv's to look at and drive so you could make your own opinion. These were your RAV4 and CRV size. After driving them and talking about them with my spouse we are now leaning towards something a little larger like a Highlander. My son has a 2018 gas version and loves it. Gas mileage in the 22 to 23 range. Looking at Fuelly that's about right and a hybrid would be mid to upper 20's on average. I'm leaning towards the hybrid but thinking about the 2020 model. Mileage would be higher in the low 30's because they are going from the 3.5 to the 2.5 gas engine as part of the hybrid set up.Some people will probably state there will be no power with the 4 cylinder set up but I'll wait and see and decide for myself when that comes. I agree with some of the other people who have posted in that Toyota has probably the best hybrid system out there.
 
The batteries for the Highlander Hybrid are crazy expensive - $4k+ for a new one.

The cost of the Prius, Camry and RAV4 hybrid batteries are much more reasonable.

As atikovi mentioned, when the batteries does die, the car is not really drivable. And they will die - anything past 10/150K is on borrowed time.

The battery on my 2011 at 196K is already on its last legs; I have been trying to extract as much life out of it as possible with the Prolong Hybrid Battery Reconditioning System, but I know the writing is on the wall.
 
I'm not real worried about my battery dying any time soon. I have heard of many cars making it to 200K w/o issues. I'm hoping that replacement picks will be better by that time.
 
Originally Posted by Dorian
I'm not real worried about my battery dying any time soon. I have heard of many cars making it to 200K w/o issues. I'm hoping that replacement picks will be better by that time.

You have a 14, so yeah, you have a long ways to go.

I think any investment in NIMH has been halted; the R&D has shifted to lithium.
 
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