2009 Toyota Highlander

Soon after I moved to San Francisco almost two years ago, I gave up my car and switched to a combination of public transit, walking and zipcar. For somebody who grew up driving everywhere it wasn't an easy transition, but parking alone in my neighborhood of San Francisco was $300 per month and with the added costs of insurance, maintenance and gas, as well as the fact that my commute to work via public transit was both faster and cheaper than the cost of gas alone, made it the practical decision.

For those unfamiliar with zipcar, it's a car sharing service that has cars distributed throughout the major cities it serves, including San Francisco, New York, Boston, and Toronto. They allow you to book a car on an hourly or daily basis, and included in the price is the cost of gas and insurance. It's perfect for somebody like me, who doesn't need a car on a regular basis but does need to run errands or get to places once in a while where public transit is either inconvenient or unavailable. Due to the nature of the program and the variety of cars within their fleet, it gives you an opportunity to drive an assortment of different vehicles. I generally have a very specific purpose when I book a zipcar and thus need to get somewhere quickly, and because you're paying by the hour, you don't often book the car far in advance of when you need to depart. That means that I don't have an hour to look through the owner's manual or play with each button or knob to familiarize myself with the car as well as I'd like. I generally just take a quick scan of the layout, adjust the seats, position the mirrors appropriately and put it in gear to go.

I was recently visiting Toronto, Ontario and was fortunate to have had a 2009 Toyota Highlander Hybrid for the week. When I picked up the car, as is my usual routine, I just adjusted the seats and mirrors and started on my way. I was immediately impressed with how logical and intuitive the layout of the car was. There was no fumbling around to figure out how to adjust the seats, turn on the headlights, change radio stations, turn on the air conditioning, etc. Everything was where I had expect it to be. The stereo had large and simple dials, all the temperature controls were clearly laid out, each stalk on the steering wheel column functioned as I had expected. I have never owned a Toyota vehicle, but was instantly at home in the car. As I drove the Highlander throughout the week, I found that this common sense approach applied throughout the entire car.

I was driving the base hybrid model of the highlander, and though it skipped the luxuries of leather seating, a sunroof or a built-in navigation system, it did have all the practical amenities to get me where I needed to go in comfort. I especially liked the smart key and rear view camera. I'm always fumbling around to find my keys, but with the smart key system, I was able to leave the keys in my pocket and when opening the door, making contact with the touch sensor in the door handle automatically unlocked the door for me. Once I was in the car, I just needed to depress the brake and push the power button and was ready to get rolling. It's a small convenience, but one that I got accustomed to having very quickly. While most rear view cameras are integrated with the navigation system, the Highlander (sans nav) had a small display that showed the vehicle and trip stats (such as fuel economy, tire pressure, etc.) in drive mode but also acted as a rear view camera when the vehicle was in reverse. The highlander was bigger than the cars I generally drive, so the rear view camera was very nice to have in those tight parking situations.

Though I spent most of my time in the driver's seat, I did try out the various seating arrangements possible in the car. The front seats are standard captains chairs that you'll find in any vehicle, so there isn't much to write about there. The middle row seats are actually a couple captains chairs with a small padded connector between them that acts as the third seat. While the two middle row captains chairs are comfortable, I wouldn't want to be stuck in the middle seat for anything but a very short ride. Rather than the middle seat, you can swap the padded connector with a center storage compartment that includes a couple cup holders. The third row seats conveniently fold down flat to make room for cargo/storage in the back and both raising and lowering the seats were quick and simple. It's a bench seat that accommodates two people, and though they aren't nearly as comfortable as the captains chairs in the vehicle and getting into and out of the 3rd row seats can be tight, for those occasions where you're carrying an extra person or two these are great to have. With the 3rd row seat up, you will have limited room for storage behind the seat and fitting in a baby stroller and luggage may be difficult, but if you need to be hauling 7 people plus cargo, you should probably be looking at a minivan or an SUV in a larger class anyways. Overall, the Highlander's flexible seating configuration will accommodate most people's needs.

For those who may not be familiar with driving a hybrid vehicle, the hybrid system and continuous variable transmission (CVT) system may require some getting used to. In addition to the engine sound (or lack thereof) when the car is being driven by just the electric motor, the vehicle doesn't shift gears as is the case with conventional transmissions. I enjoy the sound and feel of an engine revving up and then shifting, but in reality the CVT is more efficient in delivering power and fuel economy, which is in line with everything else about this vehicle. When you look into the engine bay, you can see that there's a lot crammed under the hood, including the gas engine, electric motor and a whole lot of technology to make it all work together. This isn't a sporty vehicle, but it is adequately powered and delivers the right balance of performance and fuel economy, and that's what most potential buyers of this vehicle will be looking for.

After one hectic week with the Highlander Hybrid in which I had driven 700 miles, including a combination of downtown city driving, highway cruising and sitting idle in rush hour traffic, I got an overall fuel economy of 25 mpg. That is pretty impressive considering the size of this vehicle. The ride was quiet and smooth, the interior was comfortable and functional, the performance was more than adequate, and you get the Toyota build quality and resale value. While there isn't any one thing about the Highlander Hybrid that really jumped out for me, it seems to do everything well and the overall package makes for a very compelling vehicle that should be a consideration for any mid-size SUV shopper.