It's pretty simple to boil Toyota's Highlander Hybrid down to this: It's the Lexus RX400h's drivetrain under Toyota's unpretentious crossover sheetmetal. Not only is that reduction simple, it's pretty much accurate too. So I've driven the Highlander before… and I've driven the RX400h before… maybe I can review this vehicle by mashing together the two reviews I've written before and throwing in a few tweaks. Text from my Highlander review is in italics. Text from my RX400h review is in bold. New text is in plain type Full Article
The reviewer's obession with the CVT and it's "continuously variable" nature causes me to question his understanding of how it genuinely works. In reality it's a fixed ratio with variable torque direction. Toyota's going to need to work a bit harder to dispell any thoughts of belts and pulleys (which I felt the writer was going to bring up at any moment) there. Anyone else get the same feeling?
i think toyota needs to advertise their hybrid system. Granted they need more people with really high mileage to prove it works well. they will also need to prove it lives up to a really heavy vehicle like the hylander and 400h. They should make a commercial that shows the hybrid system.. like a running version it if.. and a car driving away with a smooth acceleration. that would be cool. start out in the engine compartment showing it work. it would be confusing at first.. but would grab attention from watchers.. then while still using a cutaway type of view, zoom out of the car to see it driving. no timing belts.. no changing gears... no excess wear. it could be a really cool commercial and bring a lot of interest to the HSD.
i hate it when people mention replacement of the battery toyota estimates it will last 19 years. we've seen it last a lot longer than most transmissions ( same cost ) seeing the CVT will probably never burn out, the cost for the batteries is offset. Oil changes are also spaced more which saves money. Fuel can save a lot of money over the life of the car. Granted, the hylander and the 400h fuel economy isn't bumped up all that much. I think a combined "review" is poor. Most reviews end up this way because personal opinion gets in the way of actual review.
Advertise? EEK! They need to get some inventory! One or two per dealership would be nice, at least people could test drive! The current system of "deposits & lists" isn't gonna fly with average consumer. We all know how well the list works.. basically they would call anyone who had a deposit, in order, and keep calling until someone showed up with checkbook in hand. They win! Usually by the time I would return the call they had already sold it (1-2 hours). I really wanted gray interior, but felt if I was too picky I'd be waiting forever. The situation seems better for Prius after all the production increases and - who knows- maybe there will be a small inventory this summer. Sounds like the Lexus will be a LONG time before it'll be sitting on the lot, and I expect the Highlander to be popular. I hate big cars (difficult in city) but was thinking of waiting on the Prius since Highlander sounds so interesting. (Glad I got Prius in end thou, much better city car) Those who say these cars are being sold at a loss have a hard time explaining why they keep increasing production to meet demand. If it was just a mass prototype there'd be no reason to keep increasing. If Prius was on the lot it would be an easy car for salespeople to intrest even those who've never heard of it. They'd target young buyers, especially those into lots of options. Once the buyer calls Camry "boring" they'd know the next car to show. My parents loved the car, would even buy one themselves. NO WAY would they go to all the effort I did, and neither would most buyers when there's cars aplenty to be had.
Thats some good ideas you have there, :lol: . Maybe you should put one together and send in to the ad dept. Maybe you will get famous, 8)
