2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited Road Test

Toyota sensibility just got a whole lot more sensible thanks to the availability of hybrid technology in the mid-size Highlander SUV. Having previously tested Ford's Escape hybrid compact 'ute and the Lexus RX400h hybrid sport utility I am becoming quite a fan of this technology, which seamlessly combines gas and electrical power sources. Provided the sophisticated technology proves to be reliable and sustainable - and early indicators are favourable - hybrid systems may be the best option available today to maximize fuel economy while minimizing emissions.

Gas/electric hybrid vehicles, such as those just mentioned, don't need to be plugged into an external power source to recharge their batteries, as is needed with purely electric vehicles. And don't overlook the fact that most household electricity is coal-fire or hydro generated, the former which produces acid rain plus other environmental contaminants while the latter floods immense tracks of forest, so recharging millions of cars by simply plugging them in is no solution at all - at least not at this point.

What about fuel cell powered vehicles, you ask? Well they hold some future promise, but unfortunately they require hydrogen, and hydrogen production has issues of its own starting with the need to consume electrical power in order to convert it into a useful fuel. And even if we could cleanly convert hydrogen, how do we begin building and paying for the complex infrastructure needed to ensure its availability nationwide? Sadly the truth is that completely "green" full-scale production vehicles remain a dream that may be realized sometime in the distant future - which leaves the hybrid as the only real, mass producible "alternative means" option.

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