Well.............now I'm really confused. I read (on another web site forum), that the Highlander (Hybrid), will according to Toyota get between 42-45 mpg city and about 42 highway. I checked with Jason and he said as far as he knew, it was still only getting about 27.5 combined mileage. So my question is, does anyone know for sure? I've been planning on getting a hybrid (in a couple of years), and was leaning toward the Highlander, but then I read that Toyota will in the near future be producing the Sienna and it will get around 44 mpg. I need something other then the Prius and any other low ground car, (I have a bad back) and need something a little higher off the ground. I currently drive a 1999 Jeep Grand, and its just right for getting in and out. No strain on my lower back. I've always been a gas mileage nut, and even keep a running log of my fill ups. I'm currently getting around 16-20 mpg city in my Jeep and the best I got on highway driving has been about 24 mpg. I'm looking forward to getting either a Highlander or Sienna.
I don't go for the big power cars and gas eaters.
So if anyone knows the truth, please lt me know, so I can start planning for a hybrid for my very own.

Hi Mastersgtbob:

___Both the HH and the RXh will have much lower FE figures then what you might have hoped for. 44 from the Sienna or HH with the V6’s and their weight will be an impossibility in the short term even when driven by a hypermiler. There is simply too much mass and the SI-ICE’s that Toyota will be using in them are simply to large to achieve > 40 mpg type mileage. There is one large Hybrid on the horizon that might hit 40 + and even higher under some circumstances although I don’t think it will be ready for consumer release for at least 2 years. That would be the Mercury Meta-One based off of Ford’s new Freestyle/500 platform. Since the Freestyle already achieves 27 mpg highway in its 2WD variant, a hypermiler could easily take that up to 35 or so. Maybe even 40 with the right temps, terrain, and traffic conditions but you will have to wait for the Meta-one’s Twin-Tubro’ed Diesel hybrid drivetrain to see 40 + consistently I would bet.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

Someone knows for sure, but it's being kept under wraps.

I did some simple calculating based on the tidbits that have been released and what we know.

Toyota has said the HH will be able to get up to 600 miles per tank of gas. The gas tank is 19.1 gallons.

600/19.1 = ~31mpg

Clearly that number alone doesn't mean too much. Is that a 'city' mileage ala the EPA technique that so few are seeing with the Prius? Or is that a hwy. mpg and city numbers will be better. I don't know, but I would guess we're going to see EPA numbers for the HH that are very similar to those for the FEH.

They opted to decrease fuel efficiency slightly in favor of performance in the HH (33% improvement in Fuel efficiency are the numbers I've seen)

Using that statistic we'd see the 4WD go from 18mpg city to about 24mpg city with the HH; and from 24mpg HWY to 32 mpg.....

Hmmmm...that 32 is sure pretty close to the miles traveled/tank volume calculation above, ain't it!

So, my final best guess is that the LTD 4WD HH will get 24mpg city/32mpg hwy.

Evan E. Fusco, MD
'04 Prius/BC moded to the T
'06 Highlander Hybrid Limited AWD w/NAV

Oh yea, that would make Jason's 27.5mpg combined pretty darn close too.

Evan E. Fusco, MD
'04 Prius/BC moded to the T
'06 Highlander Hybrid Limited AWD w/NAV

Haha, don't give me too much credit. All I said was that it sounds closer. I haven't really done my research lately (though I probably should get around to it soon). Ya'll know more about these cars than I do!

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