2nd Opinion - WardlawE
If you want a roomy hybrid vehicle and can live without two extra jump seats about which even children will gripe, I highly recommend considering a Ford Escape Hybrid, a Honda Accord Hybrid, a Mercury Mariner Hybrid, or a Toyota Prius.
There is one extremely thin reason to buy the 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid: It has a third-row seat, and that third-row seat is virtually uninhabitable by adults, making the company’s seven-passenger claim dubious, indeed. If you want a roomy hybrid vehicle and can live without two extra jump seats about which even children will gripe, I highly recommend considering a Ford Escape Hybrid, a Honda Accord Hybrid, a Mercury Mariner Hybrid, or a Toyota Prius, and here’s why.
Wrapping my head around the $42,700 sticker price on our loaded 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited is almost impossible for me, especially since I can’t help but deduce that, were I in the market for a leather-lined hybrid vehicle, I’d essentially be paying $10,000 for two kiddie seats and a limited-use 4WD system compared to the equally luxurious and equally speedy Honda Accord Hybrid. And, when compared to base prices with the Ford Escape Hybrid, Toyota wants a $5,300 premium for the extra row of seating, nicer interior materials, and worse fuel economy. Given the competition, the Highlander Hybrid makes zero sense to me. But then I consider the seven-passenger, 2006 Ford Explorer Limited that I drove a couple of weeks ago, which had a 292-horsepower V8 engine and carried a sticker price of $45,000 and change. That SUV got 13.9 mpg and didn’t feel particularly quick, though it’s rated to tow 7,300 pounds, more than double the Highlander Hybrid’s 3,500-pound rating. I achieved 25.9 mpg in stop-and-go rush-hour traffic, driving the Highlander like the proverbial little old lady from Pasadena, and nailed a 23.8 rating driving normally. Plus, the Highlander Hybrid is surprisingly spry when you put your foot into it, feeling just like a big V8 without the familiar burble. Suddenly, almost 43 grand for the Toyota doesn’t seem so bad. Trouble is, I got 5 mpg better fuel economy under the same driving conditions in the less expensive Ford Escape Hybrid, and isn’t one point of hybrid ownership to conserve fuel? Plus, I find the Ford to be more comfortable and more attractive, though the quality of the interior materials can’t hold a candle to the Highlander. And though the Toyota goes down the highway with a more refined demeanor, the difference isn’t worth as many as 100 C-notes. Still wondering which one I’d spend my own money on? Any but the Highlander. – Christian J. Wardlaw
Photos courtesy of Ron Perry and Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A.
|
