Toyota highlander...

Toyota Highlander Hybrid: When Toyota Thinks Green: Initially the Toyota Highlander was introduced to the market as a non-hybrid model, but the latest ones rolling out of assembly lines are the Hybrid ones, featuring, Toyota’s new “Hybrid Synergy Drive” technology - which is basically a drive-by-wire system and uses electric signals from the gas pedal and the gear-shift lever to transmit the required action through a control computer, thereby eliminating all mechanical movements within the system. Toyota Highlander, introduced in the year 2001, in North America, has been developed on the Camry platform and is a large 7-seater SUV, built to perform like a mid-sized one. It is also one of the very few successful hybrid vehicles rolled out from the Toyota stable. While it has been originally introduced to fill in the gap between the RAV4 and the FJ cruiser, it has turned out to be best-selling SUV among all vehicles the company has ever produced. The following is a used car review of a manual, Toyota Highlander Hybrid.

The Hybrid Synergy Drive on Toyota Highlander, Has it been Used Before? Toyota has been using a technology similar to the “Hybrid Synergy Drive” as in ‘Toyota Hybrid System” used earlier on models like Toyota Prius (1997-2003) and has extended a modified system - the THS 2, on many other earlier models. This technology replaces the standard geared transmission system by electronic systems and constitutes motor-generators which supplement (and sometimes take over ) the power generating function from the Gasoline engine, which makes it a hybrid ( because it operates It operates on multiple sources of power) sometimes defines this technology as E-CVT (Electronically - controlled Continuously Variable Transmission).

The Toyota Highlander Hybrid Garners Some Rave Reviews: While it might not come with a sports-car like performance, it is certainly performs better than the non-hybrid version of Toyota Highlander. Sprinting from 0- 60 in 7.2 seconds, it shaves a close second off its conventional cousin. While slow speeds and moderate torques, the gasoline part of the hybrid engine does not come into play at all and the motor-generators ( actually two or more of them) run the vehicle, resulting in awesome gas mileage, silent operation and longer life to the mechanical parts. While only a few more sedans and luxury vehicles from Toyota (Lexus) have this technology on-board, this SUV has surely won the hearts of many a loyal customer. Some upscale models come with stability control mechanisms while the normal ones have a limited slip differential to provide for enhanced vehicle stability.

The Technology On Toyota Highlander Hybrid: Would a User Manual Suffice? The complicated technology, inclusion of a million computer controls, chips and other technological inputs have all contributed to the refinement of these vehicles Toyota successfully keeps introducing almost every successive year. While the technology is too erudite for a lay owner to understand or tinker around with, the onus now moves on to the company and its network of service centers to come to the aid of these customers, although it is certainly true that a Toyota ever has to break down.