Used 2013 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Consumer Reviews

Comfortable, roomy, great on fuel.

After owning my 2012 Highlander Hybrid for 2 months and 2000 miles (from 108k to 110k), I must say I am very pleased with the vehicle so far. My buying experience was pretty terrible as the car had some flaws, but they were due to prior owner negligence rather than Toyota's quality. With that fixed up and past me now, I'm enjoying the excellent gas mileage, superb comfort and unparalleled driving satisfaction of my Highlander Hybrid. The hybrid battery is still strong to this day, and it will most likely remain strong for many years. I bought this vehicle specifically for road trips, and it has been an extremely good road trip vehicle. It's quiet, comfortable, and spacious to make a road trip much more tolerable than your average compact car, and the fuel mileage is not far off either. Averaging 65 MPH yields 28-30 MPG and Averaging 73 MPH yields 25-26 MPG, pretty incredible numbers for such a large, heavy vehicle. City commuting is pretty easy to get over 30 MPG as long you drive sensibly. This shouldn't be too surprising seeing how the Prius routinely gets 50 or 60 MPG. It doesn't take off from a stop very quickly, but once you get going there is no shortage of power or torque. The engine is pretty quiet and when you step on it you hear a muted throaty growl from the V6 engine that actually sounds nice. You do hear the electric motors whirring as you drive, which sounds kind of eerie at first, but you get used to it quickly. The brakes also take some getting used to, they get slightly weaker as you slow down, requiring you to press the brake slightly harder as you slow down, and just before you come to a stop, the brake can be hard to modulate for a perfectly smooth stop, but once you get used to it, it's not too bad. The climate control is fantastic, it does a great job of keeping you cool on hot days and warming you up on cold days. I am very pleased with this vehicle and I would love to keep it for many more years. I do not regret getting the Hybrid. As long as you aren't negligent and do all the preventative maintenance on time, these Toyota Hybrids will go for hundreds of thousands of miles trouble free.

Better than expected

We've owned a 2011 Highlander Limited Hybrid for two weeks now. Averaging 31.5 mpg. Very comfortable ride, even the back seats! Great leg room.

Not The Best Buy

Unlike a gasoline engine, electric motors have maximum torque the instant you apply power. You can go from 60 to 80 in about three seconds if you punch it. But there is a big problem for the unwary; the Highlander has severe torque-steer and could drag an unsuspecting driver right into another vehicle they are passing. Does not come close to EPA fuel economy ratings. The 28/28 mpg only works at around 40 mph. Otherwise it is 23/26 with a combined mpg of 25 no matter how you drive.

Great SUV - no longer perfect crossover

On the plus side, it gets great mileage (29MPG so far), has AWD, seats 7 and tows a light trailer. For sheer utility nothing else comes close. On the negative side, the HiHy is no longer a crossover. My 2006 HiHy drove like a Camry and had seats and interior comforts like a Camry - except it towed my trailer, seated 7 and could haul a lot of stuff. The 2011 HiHy drives like a truck, has truck seats (particularly in the 2nd row), and is shockingly ugly.

Great Car