Steve Wonders If The Trade-offs In The Highlander Hybrid Are Worth It?

The cabin is gorgeous.  Absolutely top-notch for $53,000…very reminiscent of what you’d find in a Lexus SUV.  And hey, Toyota listened…there’s now a height-adjustable passenger seat on XLE grades and above.  And though there’s still no wireless CarPlay or Android Auto this JBL Audio System is astonishingly good.  And the quietness of this cabin lets you take in every note.

When I first tested this new Highlander a couple of years ago I discovered Lexus-level luxuriousness to this new Platinum trim.  Toyota had taken their popular 3-row SUV and refined it to the point where it blurred company lines.

Replacing the powerful and smooth V6 is Toyota’s latest gas-electric hybrid design starring a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine and 2 electric motors producing 243 total horsepower…52 fewer than in the non-hybrid models.  And with the all-wheel drive option there’s a 3rd electric motor back here powering the rear wheels, doing its own thing without the need for a mechanical connection to the transmission.

Storing the energy for the motors are old-school nickel-metal hydride rechargeable batteries situated under the rear seats.  All of this results in the heaviest, least powerful, lowest towing rated Highlander you can buy BUT – and this is of course the Hybrid’s trump card –mileage which is 52% higher than the gas-only model with the secondary benefit being extended driving range.

This one will take you 600 miles on a single tank!  And in times like these 35mpg city/ 34mpg highway sounds great for a midsize SUV – though I’ve averaged a tad less than 30mpg in the winter cold.

For TestDriveNow car critic Steve Hammes’ complete video review & test drive of the 2022 Toyota Highlander Hybrid, click HERE