It is really hard to say until the highlander has been tested. I trust this board more than anything else because the people here are real-life users from a wide variety of backgrounds.

It's entirely possible that it will simply be better. This technology improves fast, and the hybrid highlander won't be out for a while if I am correct.

I do think that being able to move at low speeds on electric only is an advantage. It's just too easy to come out of auto stop on the Honda hybrids and start burning precious gas. In my morning commute, there is a line of cars when one highway merges into another southbound. In this line and many others such as highway entrance ramps, it is hard or impossible to stay in autostop. You are moving pretty slow, so it seems like just the electric engine *could* move you just fine in these cases.

Honda is not a company to rest on its laurels though, so I'm sure they have some suprises in store. Let's see how the 2006 Civic Hybrid is.