Warren Brown, Contributor
WASHINGTON:
I LIKE the midsize Toyota Highlander sport-utility vehicle. It's a quality act. But I prefer it with the
traditional gasolene engine.
That's because I've driven the 2006 front-wheel-drive electric-gasolene hybrid version, and I can't figure out why I should pay US$7,000 more for it than I'd pay for the equally enjoyable gasolene-only model.
Depending on which oil
industry analyst you talk to, it would take five to eight years based on the government's 'average' annual driving assumption of 15,000 miles per year, with nearly half of that on the highway to recoup the Highlander Hybrid's extra cost, assuming a price range of US$2 to US$2.50 a gallon. The Highlander's fuel prices are
likely to be higher because it requires more expensive
premium unleaded.
Underlying those cost
assumptions are other huge
government 'guesstimates' namely the Environmental Protection Agency's mileage
ratings for the Highlander Hybrid, which are 33 miles per gallon in the city and 28 miles per gallon on the highway for the tested front-wheel-drive model.
BETTER FUEL ECONOMY
Hybrid vehicles get better fuel economy in the city because their electric motors generally do most of the work in stop-and-go urban traffic. The Highlander Hybrid's 3.3-litre V-6 engine, which alone delivers a maximum 208 horsepower, stops running when you stop for red lights and other traffic-pausing signals. A front-wheel-drive electric motor takes over most of the workload in stop-and-go situations.
Together, the gasoline engine and electric motor can develop a maximum 268 hp, which is pretty good oomph, especially considering that the electric motor instantaneously sends its torque its twisting power to the drive wheels.
All of that technology helps fuel economy; but my week-long drive of the Highlander Hybrid says that the EPA's mileage ratings, once again, are off the mark in the real world. I drove the vehicle in the midst of an early summer heat wave, with 90-degree outside temperatures, on hot blacktop roads, with music playing that meant more power, more energy. I drove the Highlander Hybrid at median highway speeds, which usually are higher than posted speeds, which uses more energy. The upshot was a real-world fuel usage of 28 miles per gallon in the city and 24 miles per gallon on the highway, which is still very good, especially for a midsize sport-utility vehicle.
OK, with real-world driving, maybe it won't take eight years to recoup the Highlander premium; maybe it'll take only 5 1/2 years. But I'm still not ready to part with that extra US$7,000 to get into the hybrid. Toyota tells me that I'm getting a good deal, because the Highlander Hybrid has about US$2,000 worth of new equipment in its pricing, effectively reducing its purchase premium to about US$5,000. And the federal government, in effect, also says: 'Go for it!'
GOOD OLE GAS
The government says it likes hybrids so much that it is willing to give me up to US$2,000--this year--if I buy one. Next year, the government is offering less--up to US$500 in tax breaks. The ``up to'' part is based on annual income. If you make more money, you get less 'up to'. The government has a sense of humour.
But I'll do my laughing in the gasoline-only version. I like hearing that engine kick over the second I turn the ignition key. I don't like waiting for sensors to recognise that it's time for the engine to go to work, which is what happens in the Highlander Hybrid. I love all of that scrumptious torque the Highlander Hybrid's electric motor delivers to the drive wheels. But for US$7,000, I'm willing to let that go, too.
The Washington Post
