HiHy Makes the Grade With Mom

2009 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited Limited

model as tested $48,625

Test Drove 5/11/09 – 5/18/09
reviewed by Lori Hindman

The 2009 Highlander Hybrid Limited is an SUV full of contradictions. It’s a seven-passenger SUV, but it’s a hybrid. It’s got a new futuristic look, but it’s, well, not pretty. It’s hard to know what to make of the Highlander Hybrid at first, but after a week of hard use by my crack team of vehicular testers — aka my family — all the contradictions boiled down to one irrefutable truth: The HiHy (as we like to call it) is one great family-mobile.

Toyota clearly put a lot of thought into the Highlander Hybrid. For the most part, its space is well-used and there’s plenty of storage. I love the flexibility of the interior: The center seat can be switched with a storage console, and the third row is not only easy to fold flat but easy to climb into. This is an SUV with all the luxury appointments of those fancy carmakers. I dig it.

Driving the HiHy was something of a surprise. The ride is smooth and comfortable. Even when faced with my nemesis — speed bumps in the grocery store parking lot — the HiHy sailed right over them. It’s also really quiet, even at highway speeds. In fact, it’s only when really pushing the HiHy — merging onto the highway or accelerating uphill — that I noticed the V-6 engine at all.

This hybrid has a powerful V-6 engine, so don’t expect to get 40 mpg. The HiHy gets an EPA-estimated 27/25 mpg city/highway, but I never managed to hit those gas mileage numbers. Driving the Highlander up the steep hills in my town every day, I only averaged about 19 mpg.

It’s worth noting that many of the HiHy’s fabulous features are pricey options, including the third row. The gas-powered Highlander starts at just under $26,000, but to get the hybrid engine you have to pay almost $35,000. That higher price doesn’t include the third row, Bluetooth or the very cool Center Stow seat. I don’t know that I’d be nearly as fond of a Highlander without these features.

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