Yeah, we off-road our Highlander Hybrid, including water fording. Probably are an outlier on the customer spectrum.

Yeah, tried that. To quote Princess Bride, “I don’t think that word means what you (Toyota) thinks it means.”

It’s nuanced but it’s a combination of not having much natural resources that can generate electricity, deep experience and history in relying on engineering solutions to a problem, the human reluctance to change, and government-industry “partnerships”, etc.

I’ll bite. What does this mean?

Also the gain of hybridizing the Corolla is much lower than the gain with hybridizing the Taco or Tundra or 4Runner.

Hey Toyota,

Exactly. Toyota says PHEVs are part of the solution and then... builds just a few of them. Talk is cheap.

This. Talk is easy. Toyota says they are into PHEVs. Show us. So far, it’s really difficult to get a RAV4 Prime. Where’s the 4Runner Prime? Grand Highlander Prime? Tundra Prime? Sequoia Prime?

We have one - an AWD hybrid three row crossover. Yes it gets good gas mileage and the AWD system is surprisingly good. The downside is that it is a “weak” hybrid tuned for fuel economy and is miserable to drive. If it had a strong electric motor for most “punch it” type of situation and 40 miles of all-electric range,…

Yup, especially on their larger vehicles that are dogs when it comes to gas mileage (looking at you, 2023 “new” Sequoia).

That’s true. Of course they are right in their claims that “this is will be a lot easier in a few years/decades when this transition is all sorted out.” And Toyota is saying PHEVs are a better solution, but that specifically seems to be largely talk. They aren’t building many of them and apparently haven’t sourced the…

1st: If Mazda’s CX-90 has some decent ground clearance and fording depth, then it’s just the three-row, plug-in hybrid SUV/station wagon we’ve been waiting for.

A GX “Prime” with a huge electric motor would sweet. So sweet.

Yes, although there is some nuance. A two stroke engine in a motorcycle - although it consumes far less fuel - produces 25x the pollutants (the ones that kill us all sooner) than a comparable four-stroke car with a cat.

1. How punchy is it in EV mode?

This.

We are a Jeep family / go off-road and ended up with a Highlander Hybrid. We really wanted a PHEV off-road capable eight seater, but there aren’t any, so we ended up with an entry level Highlander Hybrid. Neither of us like it, but it does its job and gets 32 mpg. The Toyota sales rep nearly lost it, when I asked for…

the cockpit almost felt cramped because the field of vision is limited. There’s not much to be done about the massive hood and thick front pillars, but he was particularly put off by the radar and cameras that also vie for windshield space. In his mind, near-luxury pricing should come with more thought paid to…

Strong PHEVs are coming starting in Model Year 2026. 50 miles electric range (window sticker) and a powerful electric motor to move the vehicle in nearly every “punch it, Chewie!” situation.

Strong PHEVs are coming starting in Model Year 2026. 50 miles electric range (window sticker) and a powerful electric motor to move the vehicle in nearly every “punch it, Chewie!” situation.