Toyota's a conservative company--just notice the bygone nature of the Celica, the Supra, and even the MR2. So it's no surprise that the Highlander doesn't make any waves. Brian Cooley takes you for a drive to check the tech.
And you can read our full review of the Highlander here.
Type A personalities burn bright but are not easy to be around. The 2011 Toyota Highlander is definitely a Type B, a laid-back SUV that doesn't strive for attention, just plugs along getting its job done. And that is just fine.
Its 3.5-liter V-6 doesn't have direct injection, a turbo, or a supercharger, but it still moves the Highlander with satisfactory acceleration. A four-wheel-drive system doesn't promise back-country adventures, but it offers a snow mode.
Cabin tech is equally good, but not great. The DVD-based navigation system looks like it's been knocking around Toyota's … Read more
Early in the Toyota Prius' history, U.S. owners noticed it lacked the EV mode switch included in the Japanese market car. Thus was born the first Prius hack, restoring that button's functionality in the U.S. cars. Then, in 2004, CalCars took Prius hacking even further, adding the capability of charging up the battery pack from the grid. CalCars boasts that this hacked Prius gets 100 mpg.
That Toyota is now promising the public a plug-in Prius as a 2012 model should only beg the question of what took so long. As with most car companies, Toyota moves … Read more
In this episode, Toyota gets exonerated, Hummer owners pretend their cars are electric, and do you wear your seatbelts?
Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 203 SHOW NOTES• Toyota electronics not at fault for unintended acceleration
• Hummer owner claims $7,500 EV tax credit
• PNDs get into the backup camera business
• Thumping systems SAFE FOR NOW in Hawaii...
• Maybe a jump ball story: Rear seat belts: Do you wear them? How about seat belts in a cab?
A study by the Department of Transportation (DOT) concluded that electronic throttle systems were not at fault in reported cases of unintended acceleration by Toyota vehicles. The DOT used engineers from NASA to examine systems and software in nine Toyota vehicles where the owners of which experienced unintended acceleration.
Toyota's own investigations assigned blame to loose floormats and poorly manufactured gas pedal mechanisms, and issued recalls to fix these issues. Toyota also implemented systems in its vehicles that cut off acceleration when the brake is applied.
Congress asked the government to look into the reported incidents, and the DOT … Read more
At the upcoming 2011 Geneva auto show, Toyota will find a new hood under which to cram its Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD) with the unveiling of a Yaris HSD concept. The automaker will also grow its Prius family of hybrids (in more ways than one) when it rolls out the larger Prius+.
In the wake of the 2011 Detroit auto show's unveiling of the compact Prius C and larger Prius V concepts, the compact Yaris HSD and larger Prius+ concepts seem like a bit of déjà vu. However, the upcoming Prius+ will seat seven passengers versus … Read more
TOKYO--Toyota soon will use lithium ion batteries in a standard hybrid vehicle for the first time, as it slowly moves from older nickel metal hydride technology.
The lithium ion batteries will debut "in the very near future" in a Japan-market hybrid, a person familiar with the matter said. He declined to name the model or give a launch date.
But Toyota is turning to lithium for the model because it will free up more interior space, he said. As an example, he cited the dilemma of wedging more bulky nickel metal hydride batteries into the center console of … Read more
In our quest for car technology, we've seen Hyundai's meteoric rise, Ford's innovative cabin features, and Mercedes-Benz's amazing driver assistance features. Then there's America's best-selling car, the Toyota Camry. Far from the cutting edge, the Camry has done well over the last decade based on its reputation for reliability and relatively low price. But as the competition heats up, those factors may not be enough to keep it on top.
In our review car, we found a Bluetooth phone system with limited features and iPod integration that worked poorly. The most cutting-edge feature was … Read more
They don't go up for sale until 2012, but Zipcar has managed to snag eight Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles (PHV) for its members to rent as part of a testing program with Toyota for the prototype vehicles.
Zipcar locations in Boston and Cambridge, Mass., San Francisco, and Portland, Ore., will receive the plug-in Prius cars, which have an electric range of up to 13 miles on a full battery and can be charged from a standard 110-volt outlet in up to 3 hours. For longer distances, the plug-in Prius achieves an average of 50 mpg, according to Toyota. … Read more
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