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Originally Posted by file014
The highlander will get projected 28 mpg combined city/highway. Im not sure if that is 4wd or FWD. Yeah its 270hp and a ton of torque, but thats not very good gas mileage for a hybrid. Its a highlander and I doubt the frame (unibody?) can handle using all that HP for towing. A prius is getting 60/51 mpg. I expected 40+ out of a V6 hybrid. I expected 28 out of a V8 hybrid. I get up to 28 mpg in my V6 (170 hp) chevy malibu. And its got low end push rod torque. Like I read in another thread, its gonna take a lot of driving for the added cost of the hybrid highlander to offset the savings in gas $$$. So I think it remains a vehicle for tree huggers.
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I agree with you on the price. It is not going to pay for itself in saved gas. That is not how that vehicle is tuned though. It is tuned for power over economy. I imagine they could have done better MPG but will less power. They probably figure that your average SUV buyer will value more power over extreme economy.
Personally I think the 28 MPG is awesome. The fact that it is tuned for power is also neat IMO. I think they have the right idea. Now all they need to do is put it in a vehicle I'm actually interested in. Personally I would rather have the great power the hybrid highlander offers at 28 MPG than some anemic amount of power (or even the same power it has now) but with 40+ mpg. I think your reasoning is correct, for the money gas mileage alone (even 40+) is not worth it. That is why they sweetened the deal with extra power.
The highlander is based on the Camry, which makes it unibody.