Tom,

I thought you were one the big proponents of enjoying your hybrid. 3k per year doesn't sound like much enjoyment!

If you're really that concerned about saving the environment by cutting down on the amount of gas consumed, I'm surprised you ended up purchasing the HiHy versus some of the other SUV hybrids like the FEH, or even the Prius.

I guess I don't share as much pessimism about any sort of grand conspiracy of the automakers for suppressing more EV commercialisation. At the end of the day, it's the consumers that drive the demand, or lack thereof. If you're pissed, that anger should be directed at us, the American consumer for buying all these gas guzzlers, like my Monster favorite: Chevy Suburban... Although the Hummer H1 and H2 still takes the cake for being way over the top...

I think modest steps like the HiHy are good ways (i.e. realistic) to slowly wean people off of their fix for power and size at all costs to the environment. Hopefully this encourages further R&D into further improving FE without sacrificing power. For example, if Toyota can further reduce the weight of the HiHy and maintain the same structural integrity (i.e. same or better crash ratings) by using lighter composite materials, that should result in further improvements in FE...

There's just something intrinsically American about the open road and the freedom to drive it as one pleases. Conserving the environment while keeping our freedoms, especially this day in age with all this crap about terrorism... There's got to be a way we can do both; I believe that way is through further advancements in technology...

Get in that HiHy and drive! You can't possibly keep those 268 horses locked up in your garage while life passes you by!

Let's face it, dramatic shifts in our "gas guzzling" mentality require leadership at the very top, if you know what I mean. We all know that's not going to happen until 2008, unless the Supreme Court steps in.

 

han

I agree. cept the whole point was to replace my wifes chevy trailblazer LTZ. With its guzzlin 12mpg real world and 87k miles already even though its only an 02.

I tried to get her into an FEH or mariner, but she pouted and wanted virtually the same horsepower, so we comprimised and got the best of both worlds. The car was for her. I already have a very fuel efficent little car and my grand cherokee limited to boot.

Driving 250 miles a month short trips in city is a lot more than you think. Its a lot of driving, just not a lot of miles. However, doing ANYTHING i can to drive LESS is of course the ultimate best for the enviroment. Not drive more.

Why arent there more posts about car pooling and finding ways to drive less? The more you drive, the more gas you burn, the more you pollute. Hybrid or not.

However,the highlander is great fun, and of course we love it when we are driving it.

The 'conspiracy theory' being my idea doesnt carry much weight.

The idea of milking hybrids down for all mpg possible is a good thing -of course until it was obvious it was going to ridiculous proportions.

On average, even on this site, the real world averages are not the EPA -super 93 mpg (somehow) hyper milers included. However gas cars dont get the EPA either, so the diff is the same, so the gas mileage is really that much better . Too bad the auto makers still made em 95% gas still, (the ice has to charge the battery) and jacked up the price to take a bite out of the savings.

You are entitled to your opinon of watering down everything i have said like it is irrelivant, but it just aint so. The evidence from experts regarding actual savings, the crushing of the EV , and the push for ethanol dont forbode well for us in the near future. It aint a 'conspiricy' , its a fact.

However, its my opinion. Again i dont want to rain on anyones parade. Enjoy your new cars, just like people for decades have been enjoying their new cars for various reasons.

 

I tried by purchasing the highlander, and if the site was about driving less, helping the enviroment, finding diff ways to carpool, and campaigning for the plug in or return of the EV, I would be there 100% .

 

Well, I finally filled up my tank today... full tank 14.9 gallons. This tank was under normal driving conditions, light on the accelerator. No pulse and coasting in Neutral. My manual calculation gives 26.35 mpg! And BTW, it was a lot more fun driving not having to worry about shifting into neutral.

Anyways, the Pulse and Coast by Neutral, at least for me provided no measurable gains in FE. So, at least for me, I'm back to enjoying driving with minimal focus on hypermiling. Credit due to the folks at Toyota; they've tuned this ICE vs. Electric vs. Regenerative braking quite well. I really love this SUV.

I filled my tank with 91 octane. So, I'll report back on any differences I observe in power and/or FE.

 

Hi han

I love the highlander. Its an exceptional vehicle.

 

Well with less the 250 miles on the RX I am still pushing 23.8 mpg with mixed driving. I'm sure it will go up as I learn more throttle control and as everything wears in a bit. As for pulse and glide, I played with it a bit on the trip home just now. As I follow the same route day after day after day after day after day I can just reset the trip mpg after I leave work and see how it changes on the same 15 mile route as I change driving styles.

-Dave

 

Dave

Congrats and good luck with your new RX400h. My first tank was pretty mediocre at 24.4 mpg; I wouldn't get too worried if yours ends up around 24 mpg. I'm sure you've read from the various posts that it takes several tanks to break in both the SUV and the driver. After a while you should be able to hit 25 mpg with reasonable and relatively minor compromises from how you normally drove pre-RX400h.

I found the biggest impact to my overall FE came when I changed my work commute route from mainly freeways to mainly expressways. The different traffic conditions and speed limits naturally constrained my driving by overall reductions in speeds and by having fewer opportunites to gun the accelerator. Minimizing the number of stops (i.e. namely, the number of accelerations from stop) also seems to help. I also try to keep the A/C use normal on the weekends (with guest in car) and used sparingly during the weekdays.

My FE evolves pretty dynamically over the course of a tank. During the weekends my FE usually decreases about ~ 1-2 mpg. However, during the weekdays, I can usually recover that within a few work commute round-trips... which one way is about 16 miles, a similar distance as yours.

BTW, how is that rear view camera on the RX400h? Must be very useful when backing up.

 

Well, I was hoping that there wouldn't be much difference in the driving experience between using 91 octane vs. 89 octane for the HiHy... well, it's kind of like the difference for videophiles between component video (R,G,B) and composite video (yellow plug). At first the reaction is what's the difference? However, as you eyes adjust to the new sharpness of the component video presentation and become sensitive to it, it becomes glaringly obvious. So, much so that you can't go back to composite video.

I can really notice the difference in the driving experience during normal, feathering acceleration from stop... or going up hills. Basically, with 91 octane, it's smooth as silk. I basically thought to myself: "yeah, that's the car I fell in love with when test driving it". With 89 octane, I can accelerate similarly with the 91 octane, but to get the level of acceleration that I'm used to, I hear more grumbling/vibrations from the engine. Namely, the engine "feels" like it's working harder. When I go up a small hill, the 91 octane doesn't skip a beat (instant FE constant), but with the 89 octane I can hear/feel a little more vibration/grumbling from the engine (instant FE starts to fade a little unless I press down on the accelerator a touch more). It just feels like this vehicle is sweetly honed to using this octane rating to provide the smoothest acceleration possible.

We'll see how the FE fares. Perhaps 91 octane ends up being better for folks like myself, not so much because the HiHy burns the fuel more efficiently, but because of how I use it. Namely, perhaps with 91 octane I end up burning less to maintain the same level of acceleration as with the 89 octane.

 

In this part of the country we don't have 91. We have 87, 89 or 93. The price tends to go up $0.10 per gallon per level. Mixing 89 & 93 to get to 91 is just too much of a PITA. I will put through a few tanks of 93 then drop to 89 at the end of the summer and see. I hope that with the AC off I will not notice much change. At this point I'm still on my 1st tank of whatever the dealer put in.


-Dave

 

Dave,

I wouldn't even bother trying to calculate your FE on your first tank. Who knows what the SUV's been through prior to your taking ownership. I know when I test drove the HiHy I pretty much floored it whenever I had the opportunity...