(Hi everyone. I've been lurking for a few months, this is my first post.)

We just bought a 4WD '07 HiHy and to celebrate our new toy we loaded up the whole family (mom, + dad + 3 kids [9, 9, and 13]) and took a road trip through California, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona. We drove through just about every type of weather there is, and I thought perhaps someone might be interested to hear about it.

SUN, SAND
Our first stop was camping in the Mojave desert (a placed called "Jawbone") with some friends who like to go dirt-biking. To get to their campsite, we had to drive about 5 miles through on dirt "roads" covered with deep sand. In places it was like driving on the sand at the beach. We made it through no problems. I even took a few little "whoop-de-doo" dunes where the dune buggys normally go. My wife didn't really think it was smart, but I wanted to see if we were going to get stuck (we didn't).

ICE, SNOW
After a few days of dusty sand we headed to Littleton, CO (spending Easter with the in-laws). Normally I didn't go anywhere, or wake-up for that matter, until the sun start warming things up and melting the snow, but on Easter morning we *had* to get up early and drive to church. And wouldn't you know it, it just so happened that Easter morning there was an unexpected cold snap with a nice little dose of snow. So the roads were covered in ice with a nice layer of and snow on top. It was scary and a little surreal, but we drove in it anyway. The ABS would kick on every time I stopped, no matter how lightly I pressed on the brakes. And each time I started up from a stop, I felt the same kind of traction-control "shimmy" like the ABS does. The car would never let me "punch it" but it did always move forward at a reasonable rate. Whether it was stopping or going, I never slipped (even though I tried). Although the little slipping-car icon on the dash got a workout. BTW, my sister in law, the Denver resident with the 4WD Subaru and the snow tires, was following me to church. When we turned left at an intersection, I made it fine, she spun out into the curb. he he

RAIN, HAIL
On the way home, we hooked up with Route 66 and did the tourist thing. While we were checking out the Petrified Forrest it started to rain buckets, then hail. Although not as scary as getting stuck in the sand, or spinning out in the show, it's nice to know that the car's sunroof is waterproof in a hailstorm.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

- From sand dunes to snowy/icy roads, we never slipped once

- Using the cruise control for all the highway driving and with no particular attention to trying to get good mileage, we ended our 3000 mi trip with the computer reading an average of 24.4 MPG.

- Silently driving around in parking lots, or the drive through window or whatever with the ICE off is *way* cooler that I thought it was going to be. There's something just plain "fun" about moving along with no engine noise.

- The 3rd row will hold one 13 year old just fine (she kinda pivots sideways a little bit like how she normally slumps on the couch). It will hold both 9 year olds at the same time for about an hour then they get sick of being so close together. And it will fit one middle-aged, pot-bellied Dad for about 10 minutes. ;-)

- I feel like I'm spending way less for gas because 1) We *are* getting better gas mileage than the last car, and 2) we don't have to buy the $3.50 Premium Unleaded anymore.

- I wish all the fun little electronic toys were available as factory options (Bluetooth, XM, back-up camera, etc.) but I guess they're trying to nudge people into the Lexus.


ok, thanks for reading.

-- George

 

Thanks for sharing George! The Highlander Hybrid is a great vehicle, and lot's of fun to drive. Looks like you tested a variety of conditions. I've had the same experience, the ABS and other systems really work to keep you from sliding on slippery or infirm surfaces.

Cheers!