Would you buy a Highlander Hybrid?

won't have to hold it too long - the new sequoia will share the same iMax motor as the tundra - could even be more oriented to better mpg than just power like in the Tundra, but it will happen on the next gen next year.

The Highlander is a great vehicle and the hybrid is great in town (drove a friends - don't own one myself). It just comes down to what you need it for (gotta be honest with yourself). You won't go wrong with one if you use it for it's intended design scope. I'm considering a plug-in option for my oldest when he starts driving - cheaper from an operational stand point - insurance....may keep me to my original plan and hand off the Taco to him while I grab me an iMax Tundra

 

I wanted to buy the Highlander Hybrid to replace my wife’s Subaru Outback but couldn’t bring ourselves to ever go test drive one and now that the car shortage has adjusted Toyota dealership pricing we never will. We traded both are vehicles in on a 2021 blue oval hybrid that seats six and has 430hp and 570lbft of torque very happy with my choice.

 

Hauling small people and good on gas. Oh and the grandparents. Stuff the littles in the back and the elderly up front.
The safety on this unit is impressive as well, not just the tech but the just the doors alone. Felt like armored plates compared to my Taco doors. Surprisingly the curb weight is ++4000 lbs as well.

 

Pricing here has stayed the same, but delivery times are suffering.
probably 6 months out if we pull trigger.

 

Ooof a powerboost, I guess it's an Expedition if it's a six seater. Although a supercrew, or supercab with the front bench could accommodate six.

Like you, and everyone has said. Yes, the Highlander is a nice vehicle. I'd say No to one for the same reasons you mentioned.

 

Is a RAV4 Prime in your budget? I have one to use as my commuter and it’s good for that.

Pro: I never use gas due to short commutes. 2900 miles later I would still be on the dealer supplied tank but I chickened out and filled up.
Con: The fuel in the tank might go bad if you don’t use it like I do.

But to answer the question. No I wouldn’t. I’d probably just go full EV instead or wait till there’s inevitably going to be a Sequoia plug in.

 

If you're really being honest with yourself, it's likely to take longer than the expected lifetime of most vehicles to pay for the increased cost of a new (hybrid) vehicle. Let's not kid ourselves, we aren't doing it to "save" money.

That's exactly why we didn't end up getting a hybrid for my wife's car. The extra cost didn't pencil out. My wife has an "eco" Corolla that gets 35mpg, more if you baby it. The hybrids of the day (2014) were only getting marginally better than that and cost ~$10-15k more. We were even looking at used hybrids. Considering that our Corolla cost <$20k (brand new out the door), it was a no-brainer.

Looking at the (~$45k+) V6 Highlander XLE, which is the only one with a 5k tow rating, that gets ~29mpg. My (paid off) '17 4Runner gets 20+ on the highway, and ~12mpg when towing 4k pounds. Even still, I'm pretty sure the one capable of 5000 towing isn't the hybrid, but the conventional V6...

I did a little back of the napkin calculation based on my driving habits (average ~3k/yr towing, 10k year normal driving), and that equates to less than $1500/year in savings (even assuming $5/gallon gas). That's not nearly enough to "save" anything when you also have a $500/month car payment vs. no payment.

And even if you are considering new conventional vs. new hybrid, the comparison still doesn't quite pencil out in a lot of cases. Looking at what I paid for my 4Runner (35k) vs. what it'd cost for a hybrid to tow 5k with ($10k more), it's the same situation we had with my wife's car.

All that said, doesn't mean I'm not considering a hybrid should one fit my needs for towing etc... I'm just trying to be honest with myself for how much money I'm saving (you're likely not saving any).

 

I did the same calcs awhile ago but check this out. It's not the same cost anymore. Easily get money back especially over lifetime which we hope is 10 ++ years. Plus we are slightly more volatile for gas prices here.
Only ~2000 difference in price. You guys getting hit that hard on mark ups? That's insane.

 

Primes are impossible to get here. Did consider it. Also we want minivan seating capacity lol. Which it pretty much is. Looks like one anyways. Just not as tall and no double doors.

The new sienna has to be similar drive train although I've never bothered to look

 

I'm looking more at the "minimum cost to play"

For me, I don't want all that fancy shit like leather, chrome interior door handles, parking assist, and all that crap that's only available on higher models.

Plus, none of the hybrids even meet my needs (needs to tow 5k) anyway. I would have to assume that a future Sequoia hybrid would do that, but again, we're talking *minimum* of $50k for a Sequoia (today's "starting" price, or $60k out the door), and if we're thinking Hybrid models, Toyota doesn't seem to put that on their base models, so I'm betting that's a $65k ($70k+OTD) truck, easy.

 

I was surprised that the "minimum cost to play" on a hybrid was not more than it is. The difference between the cheapest RAV4 gas and the cheapest hybrid is $2,550, but you get also get AWD with the hybrid. Add just that to the base and that brings the difference down to $1,450.

Granted, the math on gas money savings is really dependent on how much you drive and fuel prices. Someone driving 10k miles per year may start saving money after about 4 years at current gas prices. Keep it for 8 years and you've saved at least a little bit to put toward your next vehicle. But, I'm not sure gas savings is a big motivator when choosing between models unless you drive a lot of miles every year. Doing your part to lower emissions can be a big motivator for many.

 

We traded my wife's 2015 Highlander that had some electrical gremlins in for a 2020 Highlander Hybrid between when dealerships weren't selling much and just before all the prices went crazy so we got a great deal.

I was INCREDIBLY reluctant to even want to like it looking at the horsepower numbers from the 4 cylinder engine but with the electric motors assisting, it moves pretty well. Coming home from Michigan this summer, there were a few time passing on 2 lane roads that it would get up to 90+ without a problem.

Returning 40MPG on the highway when the previous Highlander was getting 20 is fantastic. MPG is settled down to around 30 overall.

Having driven it for over a year now, I would love to have that power plant in my Tacoma.

 

Good real world feedback thank you. And I agree the power plant and drive train have come a long ways just since last generation.

When you can increase efficiency that much in just one cycle. A few mpg in thanks probably to the cvt but what can ya do? Can't have it all I guess.

 

I am hoping to trade in 2021 tacoma trd sport premium 29000km for a 2022 highlander xle before the year ends

 

Supply is starting to increase on these. I've noticed limited and XLE s on a couple lots.

Should have some good incentives too come Christmas and New years .

 

We have a 2019 Highlander Hybrid that we love. Have only put 15k miles on it in the last 2.25 years and given the wild used car market, it is tempting to consider upgrading to a 2022 to take advantage of the huge improvement in MPG....and CarPlay

 

We drive a lot. I have 11k miles on my 3 month old 4 runner. Wife drives more. This is what we are about to get her

 

You are not alone apparently.
We haven't pulled trigger yet but most likely will in the next couple months. Only hold up is between XLE or Limited.... #firstworldproblems

 

Going to revive this and say we're going to pull trigger on Hybrid xle (for the 8 seats) and wait around foer the Toyota gods to deliver in a year or two.


Grand Highlander has come out since but that s overkill for us. Interesying proposition thiugh with the hybrid turbo set up on upper models. Hope next gen Taco gets this on Pro.