Highlander Owners

The Highlander is smaller than the Flex, particularly in terms of cargo space when the third row is in use. With a load of 3 adults and 2 kids, I suspect you will find that fitting a road trip's worth of luggage to be a lot more difficult than the Flex, unless you purchase a roof or hitch mount cargo carrier.

The Highlander is not much wider in terms of fitting three people in the third row than any midsize sedan like Fusion or Camry. For the third row to be most useful, I would suggest looking at 2011 and newer models, as that is when the split-folding third row seat became standard. In terms of fuel economy, you obviously will be getting considerably less than a FFH with the Highlander Hybrid, but certainly a lot better than a Flex.

 

The MKT is very nice, but it is definitely a luxury rebranded Flex. The space behind the third row is the big difference. Third row legroom is pretty typical of similar SUVs; only suitable for kids on a long trip.

 

For all the space it has, I wish the third row wasn't so low to the floor. Otherwise it would be more tolerable for teens and adults. The same is true for the other larger midsize models, like the Traverse/Enclave/Acadia. I had the Infiniti JX for review recently. It has a whole set of optional advanced safety features and is also pretty roomy. Probably not many on the used market yet, though.

 

I haven't looked at this thread carefully, but OP should also consider the vehicles at The Most Fuel-Efficient SUVs | Best SUVs for fuel economy - Consumer Reports and Best & Worst Fuel Economy | Most & Least Fuel Efficient - Consumer Reports that are large enough for his needs.

See The Most Fuel-Efficient Cars | Best Cars for Gas - Consumer Reports for context re: CR's mileage tests (and last page of http://www.consumersunion.org/Oct_CR_Fuel_Economy.pdf for their method vs. old EPA method).

 

Try narrower child seats in the Fusion. People who want to use 3 child seats in the back of a Prius use 2 Radians to give them a little more room.

 

The Highlander Hybrid is a great vehicle. It's comfortable. It's quiet. It's quick (0-60 in 7.5 seconds or less), it can tow 3500 lbs, it has AWD. All that with better overall fuel economy than any other 3-row vehicle. Significantly better if you live in a warmer climate and do basic hypermiling.

It's still a tradeoff if you are coming from a larger vehicle. We came from a minivan and yes, it is a big compromise. We made it work on long trips with a hitch cargo carrier. If the main priority is improved fuel economy, you can usually find a way to make it work. Much like those who have traded their mid and full-size sedans for a Prius or C-Max have made the smaller car work. Obviously, if you routinely have 8-passengers, have to tow over 3500 lbs frequently or something, then you probably can't make it work at all, unless you have an appropriate second vehicle or can use a rental if you only tow or take long trips once a year or something.

I chuckled recently when someone told me they wanted something more fuel efficient, but NEEDED an Escalade because they had 3 kids, needed AWD and had to tow a heavy trailer. Of course, the reality is that they use it 99.9% of the time for 3 hours of commuting alone every day and lament about gas prices. Then they take one or two trips a year where they actually have to tow. In Chicago, AWD is pretty much unnecessary, as we don't actually get a lot of snow and when we do, it's usually plowed pretty quickly. Plus, AWD/4WD doesn't help at all for what they actually need: stopping quickly on slick, congested expressways. For the price of that Escalade, they could have purchased a more fuel efficient crossover like a Flex or Durango for those couple towing trips and also purchased a fuel-efficient car for the commute and still had money left over, even after buying a set of premium winter tires for both vehicles. Or better yet, saved a ton of money and purchased a single, more fuel efficient vehicle like Honda Odyssey Touring or HiHy for family and commuting, then rented a big SUV once or twice a year for when they need to tow. Of course, that's not as cool as having an Escalade in the driveway (because it doesn't fit in their garage!).

acdii- the new 2013 Pathfinder tows 5000 lbs standard and is rated 19 city 25 highway in 4x4 trim. Not bad if you can make do with 5000 lbs.

 

Yea buddy! I just posted another piece on my 2006 hihy and how weak the MPG numbers are on the highway in the winter.

Don't get me wrong, driving under 60 mph and playing the maximize fuel economy is a blast, but if you gotta cover lots of miles on the highway and want to move a ton of people and gear.... the HIHY is a big disapointment for how much they cost. Not to mention if you ever run into a hybrid servicing problem forget about getting a deal on service. I got to bed praying my HIHY doesn't have any suprises for me down the line. You're at toyotas mercy.

Last night I had to move one adult and four children to the airport with luggage and I was embarrassed at the seating conditions I had to pack the children into. Forget about it if it they were adults. I should of taken my Kia borrego SUV which is way bigger and gets about the same highway mpg's. I only went with the HIHY in hopes of saving some fuel. Wasn't worth it.

Minivans are bigger and more comefortable on the inside and probably get better mpg's or the same on the highway.

If you're getting over 20 in your flex you'll never recoup the resale and purchase price cost of swapping to a hybrid suv if towing and highway is your priority. Where i'm from in New England you get spanked big time with taxes each time you buy a different car.

I love my HIHY but fortunately i don't need it for road trips. If I did, i'd desperately try to cram everything into my prius, or my Legacy wagon.

The HIHY has a TON of power which is cool if you want to murder your MPG's but it is bouncy and sloppy handling wise. My prius is more sporty in the turns (which isn't saying much) and my Subaru legacy is 1000 times more sporty feeling in the turns and at high speed.

Basically what i'm saying is dear god why can't they make a seven passenger prius v or hybrid minivan in america. Its insane that they don't.

The only time I'm glad I bought this HIHY is when I driving below 50 mph nursing the gas pedal to get 25-28 mpg. (I'm slowest person off the line at a green light trying to run without the ICE kicking in)... People behind me must HATE me. In a lot of ways I'm ashamed of myself......

 

Your 'typical' 21 mpg drive? Was that on 50 mph country roads or open freeway 75 mph crusing. I always liked the flex a lot. I thought that would make a sick taxi. Always wondered about the MPG's. 365 hp is a crazy amount.

My subaru legacy 2005 five speed MT could do 28-32 mpg at 75 mph no problem and I used to load insane amounts of stuff into it. That car defined 'overacheiver'.

I had like 100 granite pavers in it that must of been 8-12 lbs each. I used to go on ski trips with four other people, and five sets of skis and boots all inside the vehicle. (one person was a four year old though)

I fit five 55" tv's in it (half were in box).

If they made that car in seven seater like the old staion wagons I'd own four of them and never own a different car.

 

And i know what you mean about wanting a big giant black vehicle. If you gotta drive a soccer mom car, making it all black with tinted windows makes it so much cooler.

 

My experience is that it gets just above EPA estimates around 30mpg on the highway year round on average after 3 years. A bit less in Chicago winters, a bit more in summer. It's not aerodynamic and with the big V6 going all the time at highway speeds with cruise control, even the EPA of 28mpg is actually pretty reasonable. To pulse & glide on a road trip makes it pretty annoying for passengers, but you could probably do better if you don't mind annoying wife, kids and everyone else on the road;-) Our Prius is great on the highway in terms of fuel economy, easily exceeding EPA estimates, sometimes by 20% or more. The Highlander is limited to more of a city/suburban appeal. I get about the same overall mileage in the suburbs, but it's much higher in the summer and much lower in the winter.

I've saved a lot of fuel vs. our minivan, though I ended up not driving enough miles to make it break even. Still cut back on emissions and foreign oil imports, though. Now if I lived somewhere like SoCal with no severe winters and drove 15k a year, it would have been a no-brainer. Any other V6 AWD midsize SUV would be very lucky to get half the mileage of the Highlander Hybrid around the city in warmer areas, when driven by someone with even a little experience maximizing EV mode driving. That's a big deal.

Even if you drive it like a normal car it doesn't look too bad in comparative testing:
The Most Fuel-Efficient SUVs | Best SUVs for fuel economy - Consumer Reports

As for servicing, it's basically a regular Highlander for the most part. The hybrid components and battery are covered by a pretty generous 8y/100k warranty in most states, 10y/150k in CARB states like California or New York.

Minivans are bigger, no question. We fit our family of 2 adults and 3 kids just fine for a road trip from Chicago to Niagara and back in our Highlander. The minivan could have fit one more person comfortably. We could have folded one rear seat and totally crammed all our luggage inside the HH with some difficulty. Instead we put some on a hitch carrier. All that stuff would have fit behind the third row seat in the Honda Odyssey EXL that we replaced with the Highlander.

Our youngest is fine in the third row, but an adult would not make it back there on a long trip. The minivan third row is a lot more comfortable, especially for adults because it is higher off the floor. Other than that, the Highlander was much quieter, had a smoother ride on the road and more comfortable overall. The best mpg I ever got in the Odyssey on a full tank was a hair under 30mpg in ideal conditions with no A/C. In the Highlander Hybrid we got 31mpg on one tank on that trip, even with A/C running and a hitch carrier behind us.

The problem for 2014 is the fuel economy dropped very slightly with the increase in size and weight, plus you can no longer get the sub-40k base model. I paid 5k more than a similarly equipped V6 AWD regular Highlander, making it possible to break even if you drive enough miles. If I had had to spend 5-10k more on a Limited trim, I'd still be driving a minivan. I also would love a hybrid or turbo diesel minivan. Even a Grand C-Max would have been nice, but they didn't bring it to the USA. A hybrid Mazda5 would be nice, too. At least there is some competition now with the Pathfinder, but it's fuel economy is worse because I think it is more of a mild hybrid?

I really like mine, other than the front end styling which is awful, though at least somewhat distinctive. I also enjoy hypermiling around town in both our Highlander and Prius. I'm not an extreme hypermiler, but also not a moving roadblock. Have to make some compromises with driving style, heat and A/C when you run kids around most of the time! Other than maybe a Tesla, or a GL-class Bluetec if cost was no object, I can't think of anything else I'd rather be driving for running the kids around town. That may change at next year's auto show, of course, but I'm not planning any trade-ins anytime soon.

 

Yea the highlander 2011's are better cause they are bigger and look way cooler like something you'd be proud to driver vs. the Forrester styled 2006's.

I read that the 2006's were 400 lbs lighter and smaller then the 08+ ones so they got better MPG's and were faster though, plus I picked mine up for 8500 bills and put 400 into it replacing the rear wheel bearings. My warranty is up at 130,000 miles.

I do expect to take this thing to 300,000 miles, but if you read the other reviews and do run into hybrid system operating issues or a bad battery you're looking at expenses so crazy you're gonna probably have parts car. Thats at least what the other reviews have said.

If there was an nice 08+ available in my area for even 10 grand more I probably would of gone for that. But there wasn't. These things are so rare and hold value like crazy.

I'd be much better off with the larger better looking HIHY for taxi use.

 

And i would never want to tow a horse trailer with my highlander. This thing feels like a barely beefed up camry, not a F150 like my truck based SUV.

I feel confident I have the power to tow something ginormous, but not the suspension or frame strength. Not to mention i don't want to put any extra tax on my expensive to fix and replace hybrid componentry.