I browsed through the dealer's lot on Sunday for the heck of it (I was in the area) and noticed a Highlander hybrid amidst the gas-only Highlanders and while the gas-only twins were priced in the mid 20,000s, the hybrid was listed at $39,000. Holy car loan debt Batman! Granted, it was probably loaded but none of the others on the lot were even close.
There's definately a premium, and they make it difficult to compare apples to apples by mixing the available features/options. But $3-4k is the approximate premium for a HiHy over the regular Highlander at this point. We don't really expect to make up that premium on fuel savings, but spent the extra for the satisfaction of owning another hybrid and for the gas savings and reduced emissions.
There are several HiHys on the lots up here in Canada. I know of one that has been sitting on the lot since last year (Bluestone Metallic 4x4 Limited). The MSRP here in Canada is $54k for a Limited. A base RX350 costs $51k.
hm, DH was looking at a TRAC rental HiHy they were selling for $32k... with multiple renters and thousands of miles on the odo! he wanted it after driving it down to FL and back. i mean, 32k for a freakin' post rental car? that's ridiculous! the first HiHy we ever saw on the lot was loaded up to a pricetag of almost 50k. :blink:
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Sep 5 2006, 02:27 PM) [snapback]314651[/snapback]</div> I'm thinking of getting a crossover as a second car and I'm thinking that Toyota has priced itself out of my little ballpark of what I'm willing to pay. For $25,000, I can get a Hyundai Santa Fe and that seems to be a greater value for the money.
yeah, i agree with ya Jack. he wasn't interested in the size of utility of the suv... just the power under the hood (er, rear seat? ) since he never uses all the space in his regular size sedan as it is. definitely not worth the price just for that. the next vehicle we purchase is a few years off anyway, it's still an issue up for discussion.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Sep 5 2006, 12:00 PM) [snapback]314526[/snapback]</div> Great point.
Last summer (when the $3K tax cred was in full effect and you couldn't even sniff a Prius) one of the local Austin dealers told me he had plenty of Highland hybrids in stock if I didn't want to wait a year for a Prius. I kind of wondered Wth since I wanted a mid-sized hatch not a mid-sized CUV. $39K for a Highlander? Ouch. However Murano's cost just as much as RX's. So, that doesn't surprise me. The dirty secret of the RX's success is that it has a luxury badge without the luxury price tag.
