IMPRESSIVE FUEL ECONOMY RAISES THE BAR FOR SUVS
While most every automaker offers a hybrid variant of some kind in their fleet these days, Toyota continues to be a force in the electrification technology. It’s not surprising, as the Japanese company’s Prius model has been the dominant hybrid vehicle globally since its debut more than two decades ago.
Likewise, at the recent L.A. Auto Show, apart from the buzz created by Ford’s Mustang Mach-e, the darling of the show was the all-new RAV4 plug-in hybrid that’s coming in 2020.
Which brings us to the latest Toyota hybrid, and while not an unfamiliar badge, the 2020 Highlander raises the hybrid bar to underscore the automaker’s commitment to refining and advancing its trademarked Hybrid Synergy Drive system. If you listened to my Plugged In podcast episode with Toyota Canada’s Stephen Beatty, you heard the rationale behind the company’s continued belief in hybrid and plug-in hybrid technologies for the near future, as opposed to going all in on full electric vehicles.
One thing that stood out for me during that enlightening interview was the idea that convincing someone who owns an already very fuel efficient and low-emission small vehicle to trade in for a zero-emission EV doesn’t really take a big bite out of that person’s already small carbon footprint.
So, Beatty noted, Toyota is putting in the work to see how it can make its larger vehicles more fuel efficient, therefore cleaner.
As I sat in the pre-drive presentation of the 2020 Highlander
Hybrid, I was reminded of that conversation, particularly when the Powerpoint presentation slide with the combined fuel economy for the all-new, fourthgen mid-size, eight-passenger SUV flashed up: 6.7 L/100km. By far that was the most impressive number, though there were others, including: 19 (the difference, by per cent, in that fuel efficiency over the outgoing hybrid model’s), 12.3 (the size, in inches, of the best-in-class optional multimedia display), 10 (the size, again in inches, of the colour heads-up display), 2,000 (the price difference, in dollars, between a 2020 hybrid and gas 2020 Highlander), 3,500 (the towing capacity, in pounds), 4 (as in four-wheel torque vectoring, a first for a Highlander; and 2,960 and 3,570 (the savings, in dollars, between the new XLE and Limited trims and their respective 2019 versions).
The 2020 Highlander represents the fourth generation of the mid-size SUV Toyota that debuted way back in 2001 with, for the time, a revolutionary design that featured unibody construction and four-wheel independent suspension. As such, it was the first SUV that could rightfully claim car-like handling characteristics. The first hybrid Highlander came out in 2006, looking to build on the cache created by the Prius.
The 2020 Highlander comes in no fewer than nine grade options, including a base front-wheel drive model (L) and eight allwheel drive trims split equally between gas and hybrid powertrains across four trims (LE, XLE, Limited and Platinum). The top-of-the-line Platinum model is a new trim level for Highlander. Pricing ranges from $39,900 for the L through to $55,990 for the Platinum Hybrid.
It was that latter model that I spent most of the drive day in, and it exceeded my already somewhat high expectations.
The updated exterior is the best yet for the Highlander brand. Its sculpted and well-designed exterior is a far cry from the original model’s boxy, utilitarian look.
Inside, the cabin is what you would expect from a contemporary Toyota: excellent fit and finish, logical control locations, not a distracting overabundance of buttons and switches, comfortable seats and solid ergonomics. One area the new Highlander ups its game is in cabin storage spots, and there are many such places on the doors, the dash and between the seats. As this segment is all about families and road trips, you can never have too many places to put stuff.
Dominating much of the dash is that aforementioned multimedia display, controlled by a fairly intuitive touchscreen menu and capable of displaying a couple of screens at once that are still very legible due to the foot-long-plus width of the screen. Personally, I would prefer a dial on the centre console to control things like Nav, sound system and climate, as I find relying on a touchscreen method distracting.
The drive routes we followed ranged from small-town streets to country roads to highway blasts, so we had a good opportunity to test out the all-new architecture the Highlander is built upon. The Toyota New Global Architecture platform, or TNGA, is advertised as improving agility, turning radius and comfort, and it certainly lived up to that billing. The ride was very smooth, yet the steering was fairly crisp and the handling belied a mid-size SUV. Aiding that latter point is a lower centre of gravity and higher body rigidity over the previous generation.
The only shortcoming was some intrusive drivetrain noise when in sport mode and giving it full throttle. Much of that can be attributed to the continuously variable transmission that delivers the combined 243 horsepower to the four wheels. That power comes from a 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine working with the electric motors of the hybrid system. In Normal and Eco drive modes, the noise was much less pronounced. For comparison’s sake, the gas Highlander is powered by a 295-hp 3.5-litre V-6 working with an eight-speed automatic transmission. Combined fuel economy for this all-wheel drivetrain is 10.3 L/100km.
After spending time in the new hybrid, I can’t help but think more than one of four buyers will opt for this very solid and amazingly fuel-efficient vehicle. The majority of buyers in this segment — which includes the Honda
Pilot, the Hyundai Palisade, the Ford Explorer and the VW Atlas — are looking for functional family mobility. So throw in the improvements Toyota has made over the previous but very competent edition, along with that excellent fuel economy, and it’s obvious the automaker has another big hybrid hit on its hands.