Driving the Highlander
Driving a hybrid Highlander takes a little getting used to. All the controls work the same as in any other car, but the sounds and seat-of-the-pants feel are unique to Toyota hybrids.It starts like any other car; turn the key to Start and release it. A big "READY" lights up on the dashboard. Step on the brake, put 'er in Drive, and off you go. Just like you're used to, with one exception: The engine may not be running.
The Highlander's compuer brain automatically starts and stops the gas engine as needed. The Highlander can run on pure battery power at low speeds, so as traffic gets worse, fuel economy gets better, the exact opposite of conventional cars. I once drove for a solid ten minutes with the engine off. The road was a slow, curving downgrade, so the Highlander let gravity and electricity do the work. No gas used and no pollutants out the tailpipe. Beautiful!
In a departure from the Prius, which uses a diminutive four-cylinder engine, the Hybrid Highlander uses a big honkin' V6 (3.3 liters, just like the conventional Highlander), a continuously-variable transmission (CVT -- a stepless automatic) and, in all-wheel-drive guise two electric motor-generators which provide motive power and recharge the batteries as the car slows down. The whole shootin' match produces up to 268 horsepower, making this one seriously quick and powerful SUV. It can even tow up to 3,500 lbs.
Simply put, the power is instant when you need it, absent when you don't.
