While I am a prospective HAH purchaser, I am intrigued by the mileage figures being put out for the new Highlander Hybrid 4wd -- 31 city/ 27 highway and 29 overall in a vehicle with over 260 horsepower. The overall figure is essentially the same as that for the HAH. [The 2wd is even better -- 33/27 and 30 mpg overall.] This is quite amazing given the extra weight and relatively poor aerodynamics of an SUV. The mileage is almost as good as that for the Escape hybrid (33/29) which has a four cylinder engine and not much more than half the horsepower.

The above makes me wonder whether the Toyota system is fundamentally better than that of Honda. I understand the technical differences and the fact that Toyota's produces better city mileage while Honda's does relatively better on the highway side. However, it seems that Toyota's system leads to a far greater improvement in overall mileage compared to the non-hybrid when one is talking about a V6 or V8 engine. The Highlander hybrid appears to perform like an SUV V8 but with almost a 100% improvement in FE. This compares to about 28% for the HAH compared to the normal Honda V6.

Given the preceeding, I am also wondering whether the figures I have for the Highlander are correct. My understanding is that the Escape system is similar to that used in both the Prius and the Highlander hybrid and it has not produced such a dramatic percentage increase in FE. Again, it seems incredible that a 260+ hp hybrid can achieve FE close to that of a much smaller and less powerful vehicle such as the Escape hybrid.

Can anyone explain this apparent anomoly?