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Editor’s note: This is not a sponsored post… really.
Last February, I totaled our 2000 Toyota RAV4. Initially, I wanted to replace it with another RAV4. While I felt a bit guilty driving an SUV (which is not what one typically considers a green machine), we needed a 4-wheel drive vehicle with sufficient interior room. During the weekdays we care for our twin grandsons (and their 75-pound dog too), and they come with a lot of “stuff” (which had been taxing the capacity of our small RAV4). 4-wheel drive is a big help during the snowy winters we get here in Colorado. So, we considered Toyota’s next size up in SUVs: the Highlander (which came in a 4-wheel drive hybrid model, and thus was a greener, and less guilt-ridden, choice for an SUV).

I had been watching the progress of gas/electric hybrid technology from the sidelines for awhile. Hybrid engines were initially introduced into smaller, light-weight, vehicles, and I was not sure that a heavy SUV hybrid would have good acceleration and handling. After a test drive at the dealer, I was reassured. The handling was excellent, and the acceleration swift. Edmunds.com timed the 2007 Highlander Hybrid’s 0-60 run at 7.2 seconds (I have not tried this at home). After checking with my cousin (who has owned a Prius for many years) about his experience with long term reliability of Toyota’s hybrid technology, and some web searches for hybrid owner’s experiences, we bought a 2007 Highlander Hybrid last February.

To say that I am pleased with the hybrid would be an understatement. It certainly helped us weather this spring’s “surge” (not the Iraq war’s surge, but the gas price surge, which may be related to the war but I won’t go there). The EPA gas mileage for the model we purchased is 31 mpg city and 27 mpg highway. After six months (and 5000 miles) we are averaging 29 mpg.

The reason that city gas mileage is rated higher than highway is that at lower speeds, the hybrid’s electric engine provides sole power for the vehicle (the gas engine is completely shut off; no polluting emissions). As speed increases, the vehicle receives its power from a combination of the electric and gas engines. Finally at higher speeds (highway driving) the gas engine provides sole power.

The Highlander uses regenerative braking to charge the electric engine’s batteries. I won’t bore you with the details. Suffice to say that the Highlander’s batteries do not need to (and cannot) be plugged in to be charged. They are charged each time one brakes (the longer one brakes when approaching a stop, the more the batteries are charged).

The dashboard has a graphic display that shows the state of the hybrid system and which engine(s) are currently powering the vehicle. This has resulted in a positive change in my driving habits. Using the display, I quickly took up the challenge to adjust my driving technique to maximize “greenness” (i.e., keeping the vehicle solely powered by the electric engine for as long as possible, reducing my carbon footprint). I accelerate slower, keep my speed well within the speed limit, and brake easier.

One of the biggest adjustments I had to make was in starting the vehicle. After inserting and turning the key, there is ….. nothing. No engine sounds, no vibrations, nothing. When starting a conventional gas engine, no sound usually means trouble. But with a hybrid, turning the key starts the electric engine (the gas engine remains off), and the electric engine is silent and free of vibrations. For the first week or so, I had to consciously train myself to not react with alarm when presented with silence. After starting the vehicle, a quick glance at the dashboard’s “Ready” indicator reassured me that all was well and the vehicle was set to go. The hybrid’s silence (when running on the electric engine) also requires more care when driving slowly near pedestrians. They often do not hear me approaching.

The only disadvantage I’ve experienced with my hybrid is price. Typically, the price of a hybrid model is $4000 to $7000 more than the price of an identically configured non-hybrid model (depending on make, model, and one’s ability to negotiate with the dealer). I can understand that the auto manufacturers’ need to recover their research and development costs for putting hybrid technology on the road, and thus I was willing to pay the premium. The improved gas mileage of the hybrid does provide a savings in ones recurring gasoline bills. However, I’ve done the math, and with gas between $2.50 and $3.00 per gallon, the hybrid has to be driven approximately 100,000 miles before its improved gas mileage results in recovery of the premium paid at purchase. If (or perhaps when) gas jumps to $4.00 to $5.00 per gallon, the hybrid would still need to be driven 55,000 to 70,000 miles to recover the premium paid at purchase. So, I have no illusions that driving a hybrid is actually cheaper than a non-hybrid. However, it certainly does conserve gasoline and reduces polluting emissions (thus reducing my carbon footprint and making it a greener vehicle).

I am very pleased with my Highlander Hybrid. I bought it to obtain good gas mileage with an SUV, and it has certainly met my expectations. I have not experienced any disadvantages with having a hybrid. However, the first part of this article was not meant to be a review of the Highlander. I just wanted to present a testimonial to the current maturity of gas/electric hybrid technology. I believe that hybrid technology can be used as part of a plan to help our nation quickly break free from its dependence on gasoline powered vehicles. In the second part of this article, I’ll discuss the plan.

[tags]a little greener, ecology, environmental, caring, society, buying a new car, suv, emissions, hybrid, disadvantages, price, carbon footprint [/tags]
Photo graciously provided by Lawrence Whittemore, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved