Comparing a 2008 Highlander Hybrid with 2007 Prius Prius wins - Prius - big MFD that shows you energy, MPG as a number, all kinds of stuff Highlander - Tiny MFD, doesn't show as much info, doesn't even show the correct arrows when doing a force recharge Prius - set the AC temperature and it will automatically run the AC until the car reaches that temp Highlander - turn the fan up or down manually like a stone age person who has no modern technology Prius - big area under rear cargo bay for stuff Highlander - no area under rear cargo bay for stuff Prius - 50+ mpg Highlander - 25 mpg Prius - massive discussion forums, lots of junkyard cars / parts Highlander - not many discussions online, not as many junkyard finds Prius - stock sound system is actually very good Highlander - not that great audio, distortion in speakers, volume + tuning knobs develop cruft after a decade+ requiring cleaning Prius - simple out-of-the-way shifter that "just works" Highlander - ridiculously huge skewmorphic shift lever designed to imitate something its not. uses up valuable console space. and it will also let you turn the car off while it's in "drive" to the point it can roll away. Highlander wins - Prius - bottoms out all the time, lose your front shield on a curb, god bless you if you are in snow or dirt Highlander - beautiful 8-ish inches of clearance, and the lowest part is the exhaust pipe, can actually do mild offroading though its technically discouraged in the owner's manual Prius - weird visibility issues with the huge hatchback pillars and the large a pillars, read window bar thing Highlander - actually not bad visibility Prius - battery lasts ~ 200k miles Highlander - per internet scuttlebut, HV battery lasts longer, perhaps due to the 6 cylinder engine taking more of the workload off the battery more often, or the battery being bigger and having better cooling Prius - 2wd Highlander - comes with AWD option Prius - almost too slow for certain situations Highlander - feels like a rocket ship compared to Prius, actually faster than the gasoline-only Highlander Prius - no EV button Highlander - EV button Prius - if you are 6 feet tall and you sit up straight you are basically looking down on the roof - windshield contact area and cannot see anything Highlander - if you are 6 feet tall and you sit up straight you can actually kind of see the horizon Prius - no 3rd row, 2nd row a lil' short on legroom Highlander - 3rd row for small folks, 2nd row can have lots of legroom Prius - technically not legal to tow anything Highlander - rated for 2000 pounds towing, up to 3500 pounds with sway control device Prius - have to open entire hatch to access cargo area Highlander - poke a button and the rear window pops open without the whole door popping open Prius - manual rear hatch Highlander - Power rear door!! Overall Prius is more quirky and fun for zipping around town, sneaking in little parking spaces. Highlander is much better for bigger cargo, more people, worse roads, giant trucks on highways. Thanks for coming to my ted talk
We had the very 1st year the Lexus hybrid (virtually same as hybrid Highlander) came out - it would get in the low 30's . But now? Hyhi is Much higher. 36mpg. https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1127113_2020-toyota-highlander-hybrid-36-mpg-tops-any-other-three-row-suv-without-a-charge-port"]https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1127113_2020-toyota-highlander-hybrid-36-mpg-tops-any-other-three-row-suv-without-a-charge-port[/url] Yes, the older hyhi has improved much - in comparison to the 1½ decade old Prius.
