2017 toyota highlander hybrid limited Xle and Le Platinum - Automotive News

2017 toyota highlander hybrid limited Xle and Le Platinum 

2017 toyota highlander hybrid limited Xle and Le Platinum.Low gas rates have begotten hard times for composites. Even today's most efficient gas-electrics--the Toyota Prius, the Kia Niro, and the Hyundai Ioniq--don't pencil against least efficient but much less expensive nonhybrid equivalents in the same general class. And those are composites that surface 50 mpg. The Toyota Highlander hybrid SUV is in an even tougher distinguish, considering the fact that that its EPA ratings are exclusively a few mpg better than a regular Highlander's.

Updated for 2017 along with the rest of the Highlander lineup, the hybrid, as before, marriage a V-6 engine to a 167 -hp engine/ generator to strength the front pedals, with a second 68 -hp electrical engine fitted to the rear axle supplying on-demand all-wheel drive. The engine, nonetheless, is brand-new, and for the first time is shared with the nonhybrid Highlander. It's now direct injected and performs 295 horsepower and 263 lb-ft of torque, improvements of 64 ponies and 48 lb-ft over the previous pose, nudging the hybrid powertrain's total output( taking into account both electrical machines) from 280 to 306 horsepower.

The Math

Of the four Highlander hybrid edging stages, the cornerstone LE model boasts the highest EPA ratings: 29 mpg combined, 30 mpg municipality, and 28 mpg road. The fleshes for the other three( including the Limited measured here) are each 1 mpg lower. Either method, in comparison with the all-wheel-drive V-6 Highlander, the hybrid's EPA forecasts are only better by a few mpg. Our real-world fuel economy was even less affecting, at 23 mpg overall--just 4 mpg better than the last nonhybrid Highlander we measured, a 2014 prototype that had the previous, less-efficient V-6 engine and a six-speed manual transmission. With its new V-6 and eight-speed automated, the present account likely would narrow improved efficiency crack greatly. In our 75 -mph highway fuel-economy assessment, this latest Highlander hybrid attained 26 mpg--exactly the same as a nonhybrid 2016 Highlander V -6--or 1 mpg worse than its EPA highway rating and best available than some of its nonhybrid peers, such as the Mazda CX -9.

If there's a silver lining, it is that the Highlander's hybrid toll fee is smaller than most. The entry-level LE is merely $2130 more than an all-wheel-drive, V-6-powered Highlander LE; on the XLE trim, the hybrid's toll penalty is time $1350, whereas the Limited and Platinum hybrids are $1620 dearer than their gas-only counterparts. Oh, and this hybrid( thanks to the updated, more powerful V-6 engine) is the quickest Highlander we've ever measured, reaching 60 mph in 7.0 seconds flat. That's 0. 6 second quicker than the old-fashioned hybrid and 0.3 second quicker than the pre-refresh criterion Highlander with the previous V-6 engine.

Still, we'd save the money and just buy the nonhybrid prototype, which too benefits from a more traditional driving ordeal. Accelerate speedily in the hybrid, and the V-6 and electric machines combine for a sort of mooing soundtrack as the engine revs to its strength crest and keeps there while the transmission participates the optimum drive ratio.

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Despite the hybrid's AWD setup, there is noticeable torque control as the figurehead wheels fight for acquisition during hard acceleration. Up to about 30 mph, the hybrid perceives snappy and quick; above that velocity, the feeling of acceleration slackenings as the electric motors lose gust and the V-6 shoulders more of additional burdens. This isn't wholly surprising; according to Toyota's weight figures, the battery-assisted Highlander Limited hybrid is 310 pounds heavier than an equivalent nonhybrid.

Dynamically, the three-row Highlander is unexciting, with lifeless guide, occasionally floppy body motions, and grisly restraint seek. Toyota has yet to figure out how to transition smoothly from regenerative braking--wherein the electric motors act like mechanical brakes, converting kinetic energy into electricity--to conventional friction braking via the restraint rotors. The reaction is uncertain and changeable replies from the restraint pedal, although the hybrid's actual discontinue lengths are par for this class.

2017 toyota highlander hybrid limited Xle and Le Platinum 

A Regular Three-Row Show

Powertrains aside, the hybrid follows members of the general Highlander script as a skillful category hauler. All mannequins glean cosmetic informs for 2017, including a wide-mouth grille, more LED lighting accents front and rear, and a generally classier appearing overall. The cabin's meeting is high quality and lovely, and we like the wide-ranging rack that encompasses most of the lower hasten and is handy for placing everyday detritus. Demerits involving the touchscreen's distance from the driver( it's an easier reach for the front passenger) and the stubby audio and HVAC knobs that are nearly flush with the smothering surface and therefore difficult to grip.

The Limited researched here, together with the top-end Limited Platinum model, comes with a pair of second-row "captains chair" and a third-row terrace, but buyers can opt for three-person benches in both sequences to accommodate eight in total on the LE and XLE. The Highlander's second sequence offers slew of space, plus fore/ aft and recline adjustments--although the seats have a rather low cushion--while the cramped third sequence is insufferable for anyone but small children. Usefully, the third largest sequence, when folded, organizes a clean-living ramp between the cargo flooring and the fold-flat second-row chairs, so we are capable of slip caskets or other ponderous components in without snagging cargo on anything.

2017 toyota highlander hybrid limited Xle and Le Platinum 

At $ 46,154 with alone extra-cost flooring rugs and body-side moldings, the Limited you see here isn't unreasonably expensive for a neatly equipped mid-size three-row crossover. Every 2017 Highlander now comes standard with forward-collision forewarn, automated disaster braking, and adaptive sail switch, and every trimming above the locate LE also has blind-spot monitoring. The Limited adds heated and ventilated front seats, 19 -inch wheels, and more chrome exterior trimming in addition to the sunroof, power front seats, power liftgate, and leather benches( vinyl in the third largest sequence) that the XLE brings.

So the Highlander hybrid is every bit the practical and useful three-row category crossover that its gasoline-powered sibling is. And therein lies the rub: There's no forcing reason to pay added for it or to deal with its drivability aberrations. The small-scale fuel-economy better is unlikely to be of much interest, peculiarly when gas is so cheap.

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Source : Caranddriver.com