My sister's hybrid Highlander.

[spearmint]

The mileage is 23-26 mpg a lot less than promised. It is a luxurious beautiful driving car but the hybrid aspect is disappointing. Also instead of getting better mileage in the city she gets worse mpg than on the freeway. Also before driving in the city the dealer advised warming the engine up before leaving. Leaves me with the feeling if I drove a lot and wanted to save gas consumption I would get a nice small car with good mpg like a Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic.

[Paul F.]

Smaller Hybrids beat the stuffing out of the larger ones at the moment..

LOVE the technology, and I'm waiting for it to mature to where I can get a Nissan Pathfinder sized Hybrid that actually beats my current mileage, at about the same price.

So far, not happening.

But in a few years...

[Carnos Jax]

How does the mileage compare to a conventional Highlander of a similar power rating? Honda's philosophy (for example) in their hybrid Accord was performance oriented. They kept the same engine, just added the hybrid components to improve performance w/o the detrimental effect on mileage (think turbo/supercharger in terms of cost and performance). That may be Toyota's intention in this market segment as well.

[Filliam H. Muffman]

How do you warm up a vehicle where the gasoline engine does not turn on until it is going more than 15 mph or over 30% throttle accelerating from a stoplight?

My brothers GF just bought one. The way she drives, it gets about 40% better city and 30% better highway mileage than the 4 cylinder Volvo wagon it replaced. I think the acronym YMMV is entirely appropriate for this. Every hybrid has driving situations they do well in, and situations where they do poorly.

[C(-)ris]

Hybrids aren't really as eco friendly as people want to believe they are. I

[SteveJobs]

Less than she thought? See my earlier post on hybrids. Perhaps the labeling can be truthfuller.

[pRON aHOLIC]

Is this the same sister you talked about before that guns it like she is in the Daytona 500 every red light?

[AlphaDog]

I have a 2001 Highlander that I bought in August of 2005. It has the V6 engine, but it's two wheel drive, and I don't know how the engine compares with the one in the hybrids. Around town, which is where I do most of my driving, it gets between 19 and 20 mpg. I took it on a short trip last July, and the mileage quickly went up to 26 mpg. I didn't go far enough to go through an entire tank of gas at highway speeds, so I figure it would go even higher if I took a longer trip. Oh, and I bought the car used so didn't realize the cruise control didn't work until I was out on the freeway trying to use it, so I figure the highway mileage would have been higher if I'd been able to set it on cruise, too.

I love the Highlander, and I'd like to get a newer one in a year or so, but, the more I hear about the mileage on the hybrids and do the math, I don't think I can justify the increased cost.

[mattkime]

you mean a hybrid drive system doesn't erase the fact that you're driving a small mobile home?

count me shocked!

[spearmint]

[quote pRON aHOLIC]Is this the same sister you talked about before that guns it like she is in the Daytona 500 every red light?
One and the same. However changing her driving habits is not an option and should not be a requirement for getting the better mileage. If she drove like the egg was on the gas pedal of course she would get better mileage Hybrid or not. Last year I probably drove three thousand miles and 19-25 on my Buick Regal suits me fine for a big safe car.