It's not designed for heavy-duty off road use, but 68 hp and 100 lb/ft of torque split between two wheels isn't useless, it can be very effective.

The 400h weighs 4365 lbs., and the rear wheels alone get 68 hp. To put that in perspective, look at some "real" off roaders from ten years ago, their weights, and the engines total output:

Land Cruiser weighed 4480 lbs., 155 hp.
Jeep Cherokee weighed 4499 lbs., 144 hp.
Ford Bronco weighed 4430 lbs., 145 hp.

It's more than just the numbers. We all know that the 400h or HiHy isn't going to get you through a mud bog or win you a rock climing championship. But to say that it's not even 4wd is ridiculous.

 

[quote=highlanderhybrid;111394]uhh, that little electric motor can not provide much power at all. A V6 Highlander with 4x4 would work because it's actualy a connected drive train. Also in snow alot of people with the i4wd could not even get the car to move because of the VDIM. The Front wheels get alot more power than the rear wheels, the rear wheels only get 67 HP lol. quote]

The Tahoe with locking differentials and heavy frame construction is, of course, much more suited for off-road and shouldn’t be compared to the Highlander. The vehicles have different purposes.

However, don’t underestimate the rear electric drive on the Highlander Hybrid. Torque is much more important than horsepower for both off-road and just getting out of minor traction compromised situations. In really tough terrain you typically go no more than 5 to 10 mph. Torque – not horsepower is king at these speeds.

The rear electric motor puts out its maximum 96 ft-lbs of torque at 0 rpm. This creates significant power at very low wheel rpms. The front drive electric motor can put out a whopping 246 ft-lbs also at 0 RPM. The pair allows very precisely controlled torque application without having to deal with the rubber-band-like torque converter windup in a conventional power train. If it wasn’t for the traction control, this vehicle would smoke its tires from a WOT standing start.

The two front electric motors are both water-cooled and rated for continuous operation. However, the main limitation of the rear motor is that it is not rated for continuous operation. That is a key reason for the Highlander Hybrid not being recommended for off-road (besides suspension/body ruggedness). The rear motor is air-cooled via deep fins cast into the aluminum motor/differential housing assembly. Aggressive and sustained off-road operation could heat up the rear drive assembly to its safety limit. The drive train computer monitors the temperature of the rear drive and will automatically disable the rear drive under this situation until it cools off to prevent damage.

 

There is a difference, the jeeps and land cruisers are tough and meant and gearced for off road. The Higlander is not. The rear motor has a potential of burning up. Thats not something I would like to take off roading. Also it's not designed for any off road use as stated by Toyota. It will not take you through anything I go through in a tahoe. The traction and stability control on this thing is too sensitive, if you go in mud you wont be able to spin your wheels a little to get out. Going down a dirt road or on light terrain is ok. But the Highlander and expecialy a Lexus would look a little odd going mud bogging.

It's not a bad vehicle, I love mine. But it's sure not a Tahoe. My Tahoe has mechanicaly locking differentials and 4wd lo and autotrac 4wd system. You can spin your wheels to get out, but it's designed for that. I would not take my Highlander also because going offroading really hurts a car thats not designed for it like I said, it's especialy bad on the supension because the Highlander and especialy the Lexus are not tuned for off road. Tey are tuned for comfortable on road paved driving. Under my definition it's AWD because it's not designed for real off roading. Especialy the rear motor.

 

Our experience with the 2006 Highlander Hybrid (4 wheel drive) is that it is great in most conditions. On our steep, paved driveway, I got stuck in the snow bank (passanger front tire in deep snow). I could not get power to the wheels to pull me out (took the shovel and cleared around the front tire and than no problem). WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS STUCK, I COULD NOT GET ANY RESPONSE OUT OF THE ENGINE TO REV UP. I suspect the reason was: The rear traction motor does not have enough torque when the front tires are not moving and that the front gas engine won't torque up if the rear motor dosn't torque - Make sense??? Anyway... we love the vehicle (and will carry a shovel).

 

Thats the stupid traction control and the rear motor is probaly not powerfull enough to provide enough traction like a connected drivetrail 4wd

 

It's not a question about power... look at electric trains, fork lifts etc. an electric motor provides much more torque than any gas engine does. All that torque comes with a detractor, heat generation. For the HH it's a matter of cooling the rear drive motor, it is not part of the cooling system like the front motor is and depends on it's cooling from the air moving around it. If your not moving it will overheat very quickly and cause it to burn out or start a fire. As technology progresses, or they decide to go to liquid cooling for the rear motor, I'm sure that hurdle will be over come.

 

Actually, the Hybrid Vehicle control system will not permit you to overheat the rear motor or cause the vehicle to burst into flames. It will just dutifully shut off the rear drive before it overheats and allow it to cool before allowing it to operate again - not timely if you are half way up that 25% grade rock hill climb.