I live in Green Bay. I have a 2006 HyHi. I have not reset my mpg reading since Nov., 2007. The reading is now 23.3/Gallon. It is not good. I get 33 mpg during the summer. Distance to work is 8 miles. If you drive 5 mile short trips living in BC, I do not think you can get much out of it.

 

I'd take 23 mpg in a heartbeat. Even if our driving drops that to 21, it's still a big advantage given that we'd only get 14mpg or less for comparable 6-7 pass AWD non-hybrids in the same driving conditions, and currently get 9 mpg winter city driving when using the Yukon XL.

 

We live in the Nelson area of BC (Mountaineous and -20C in the winter - we don't have to plug it in in the winter) and have had our 2006 Highlander for close to two years. Milage in the summer ranges from 6.2 litres to 8.5 per 100km. In the winter it averages 9.5 to about 10.5 per 100km. I'm assuming that it is because we want heat in the vehicle to stay warm and to get heat, the gas engine is going to come on. We are very happy and surprised at the milage. It has a lot of power and so you do need to hold onto the steering wheel if you are pulling out to pass and you are "give'n it gas."

If you are in neutral and step on the gas, you cannot rev the engine up - that is the intelluct of it. If you get stuck in snow, you have to free up the wheels a little bit (with a shovel) to get motion and than you are away (have had to do that once when I drove off the side on our steep, paved driveway).

Occassionally, our model, when applying the brakes, feels like they are releasing - they are not - it has something to do with the regenerative braking system interacting with the hydralics of the brakes.

We would definetely buy another one.

 

Short trips, 4 to 5 miles in Minnesota winters - 22 MPG would be expected, as low as 20 MPG with temperatures below 0 Fahrenheit.
On really cold days, -10 F, the engine would rev at high RPMs for a mile or so . . . puzzling . .

The front wheel drive HH is a great car for snow and ice. I do put snow tires on this (mounted on separate rims). It drives almost as well as four wheel drive SUVs on *snow*.

End

 

An EBH might shorten the usefull life of the catalytic converter whereas preheating the leather seats and possibly the entire passenger cabin with grid power cannot possibly have a downside.

 

Any science beyond the shorted catalytic converter idea? I can't see any...the exhaust exiting a car reaches full temperature in a matter of few seconds to half a minute. A catalytic converter doesn't work correctly until it heat up, which with or without a EBH, won't happen until the car starts...and should happen at nearly the same speed whether the engine block is warm or cold.

Preheating the seats, cabin isn't really possible with grid power without either considerable modifcation (bye bye factory warenty) or without leaving a window partly down for an extension cord to run a space heater...something I wouldn't do.

I could heat the garage, but currently its unheated so I would have to add insulation and a heat source...too expensive, and the actual engine block would still only be "room temperature" which hopefully no one would have about 50 in a garage.

Lastly, why would I care about cabin temp? I can, and do put on a jacket and gloves. I usually use the heat heater when its really cold and that helps a lot while putting far less demand on the car. The whole point is the engine system isn't up to temp and thus won't go to EV mode for miles further than in does in summer. Also, even when up to temp, it drops far move quickly in EV mode during winter (taking back into ICE only), but a grill cover help reduce a lot of that heat loss.

 

Hello there. I am also in Co and had a few questions for you.
How is your MPG going up and down from the tunnel? I have talked to a few Prius owners that get typical lower MPG going up but 90+ going down the hill. What have you experienced with the HyHi? I have also read a lot about an engine heater, what are your views on this with living in Co?


Thanks

 

I can't comment on the tunnel as I live in Colo Spgs and use 24 to get to Breck and Vail. My HyHi is in the garage over night so no need for a heater. My overall MPG has been 29 - 30 in the winter and 34 - 35 in the summer. My commute distance is 18 miles and a combination of I 25 and back roads. Overall I am very happy.

 

Not bad. Do you notice a big difference in MPG going up the hill vs coming down? What would you say coming down the pass average MPG is? How is the handling during the snow/icy conditions?

Thanks for the info!

 

Never really monitored it going up the pass. Going down Hooser in the summer the engine is off and the battery gets compleatly charged by the bottom. From there I can get to Breck on battery alone before the engine starts up. In the winter the engine runs put only to keep warm. Battery is fully charged by the bottom and only battery power is used until I get to Breck.

Andy