Featured Hi-Hy

maybe i oughta come out from under the rock, but they dropped it?
EDIT
ya - 2017 .... was just driving behind one yesterday. Didn't know
too bad ..... know your audience
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correct, that's why one would ask to bring it back. if they hadn't, it wouldn't be necessary to request

 

you are obviously not the audience
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not the audience? i don't even know the audience

 

On introduction, the Highlander, RX, and NX hybrids all had a FWD option in the US. It was available longer on the RX. Without AWD, the tow rating was zero.

The Rav4 was the first to not have it since introduction, but other markets have FWD as an option for it.

Possibly less. It have just 21 more hp than the Rav4, and it will be several hundred pounds heavier.

I don't see that happening. The Rav4 Adventure has a 3500lbs rating, but that's because it has the fancy AWD system that has better control. Then vehicle size is a factor in tow rating. The four door Wrangler is rated 1500lbs higher than the two door's 2000lbs. The only mechanical difference between the two models is the wheelbase. Part of the drive for the 4 door was to give the Wrangler a higher tow rating.

 

Crap I might as well go for broke, I want an EV.

There’s no demand for Venzas now there’s no demand for EVs.


Unsupervised!

 

venza ev? twice as little demand

 

Well there goes that idea.


Unsupervised!

 

Guess you'll have to settle for the Audi Etron.

 

Huh, I thought Toyota/Lexus towing capability had to do with whether it had the extra radiator (and cooling) for the transmission. That is why it is so limited on the hybrids because there is no extra transmission radiator, except for the Hi Hy and RX450h. Now that the Hi Hy is going to a 2.5L, whither the 3,500 lb towing?

While it would be nice for the RAV4 Prime to get 3,500 or 5K towing maybe now is the time to actually ask for that as part of a wish list. They may have to shoehorn the extra radiator into the design for the extra capability.


Unsupervised!

 

Going by info on the gen4 Prius improvements, there wasn't any transmission cooler. It generally isn't something a manual transmission, which the HSD is mechanically, as the fluid is generally more heat tolerant than automatic fluid. The gen4 got a tranny cooler in the radiator like automatics have, and it should of had from the beginning, since it uses automatic fluid.

The FWD SUVs didn't have a tow rating because Toyota was protective of the HSD. With AWD, the rear motor does most of the work of starting with a trailer, so less stress on the front. Note that while the Prius now has a tow rating in some markets, it is still lower than other cars, even smaller ones.

 

it's not just the HSD that gets hotter Towing (& pulling Hills, or both), it's the inverter. Our RX Hybrid went in at least 2X for flashing inverter heating controllers as they were having to do warranty work on too many of them, prior to the TSB /flash

 

Yeah I forgot about the cooling requirements for the inverter. And the RAV4 Prime has a separate boost converter as well to get to 302 hp? Maybe it will get enhanced cooling enough for that and towing.


Unsupervised!

 

Only Torque Converter automatics benefit from extra radiator, with hybrid the botleneck is probably the electric part, with HSD the engine is never 100% connected with the wheels, part of the load always goes through generator - inverter - el. motor, so if you load the system up more electric energy goes through. I don't see the PSD alone as problamtic

A 240 BHP rating suggest exactly that, a beefed up hybrid system and per Car and Driver tow rating is 3500 lbs, up significantly from RAV4 hybrid.

 

The current Highlander hybrid is rated to tow 3500lbs, and it has a net power rating of 306hp.

3500lbs is the usual upper limit for most passenger vehicles, as that is the limit of a class III hitch in the US.

 

Class IV (10KLbs/1K tongue weight) would not be in the realm of reality for Rav4 weight - even with a 20kWh traction pack. A class 3 would be tops
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I was only musing about that recently. I hear people on talkback radio all the time asking for towing capacity for SUVs and light trucks. Yet, I took notice next time I walked through the supermarket carpark and the vast majority of SUVs didn't have towbars. Probably because, on the school run, they're not very useful. When it came to small trucks, the opposite - but many towbars looked as though it had never been used - I suspected a "just in case" addition?

Real 4WDs like LandCruisers and Nissan Patrols were different - many of them looked like they'd been used.

 

Even in our semi rural area south of Nashville the trailer & boat owners use their F250's (easy to spot with 8 bolt rims) trailer hitches once a year if even that much. The mileage really sucks even if you're not pulling anything. And when you do, massive mileage hit .... nevermind that $100+ that it takes to fill it.
But hey - even the model X drops from 85MPGe to 'only' 50 MPGe when it pulls a 6, 800 Lb boat


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