Plenty of sweet sounding technology marred by a couple of unharmonious flaws

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2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid – Ride and Handling

Handling
The Highlander Hybrid doesn’t handle all that well. The steering is numb and on the ponderous side. Cornering at anything but street speeds often requires mid-course correction. The ride can’t be called harsh, but it’s close. Every ripple, bump and hole is communicated through the tires and suspension. While you might be tempted to excuse these characteristics because the Highlander is a crossover, there are other vehicles in the segment that handle much better. The one positive is that the brakes, although grabby at low speeds, work well.

Fun to Drive
Fun isn’t the term we’d use to describe the Highlander Hybrid, at least not from a driving standpoint. Handling leaves a lot to be desired and ride quality is only as smooth as the road you’re on. Redeeming qualities have less to do with driving and more to do with convenience features and options. While the Highlander Hybrid is EPA rated at 27 mpg in the city and 25 on the highway, our best mileage was 23.0 and most of the time our mileage was in the 22s. Scrolling through the information display revealed that our test vehicle had averaged 23.2 mpg over 2,835 miles.