Toyota Highlander EV Coming - Is This It?

[DuoRivian]

I want to believe this a serious attempt from Toyota, but man, this is bland, even for them. I hate the whole EVs are "soulless appliances" argument, but this feels like that argument personified. They can't expect people to walk into a dealership and ask about it and then tell them with a serious face it starts at $55k? It's the whole issue IMO that Kia and Hyundai have with the Telluride v EV9 and Palisade vs Ioniq9 - you can get a fully loaded hybrid that looks better and 2x the range for the base price of the BEV. Not a good strategy.

I want to be wrong. I believe that once we start to see the Japanese automaker start releasing actual EVs that we will see more momentum for EVs stateside, but this ain't it.

BEVs are more expensive because the battery is $8-10k then you have motors etc which more than cover the cost of an engine and transmission.
They are using a well established sloshed nameplate for this and their many leaning from mistakes in the past. It would be foolish to bet against the largest car company in the world who seems to know what actual paying customers (rather than internet commentators) want.

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[Great Gatsby]

BEVs are more expensive because the battery is $8-10k then you have motors etc which more than cover the cost of an engine and transmission.
They are using a well established sloshed nameplate for this and their many leaning from mistakes in the past. It would be foolish to bet against the largest car company in the world who seems to know what actual paying customers (rather than internet commentators) want.

I bought a Kia EV9 and then my R1S. I'm an actual paying customer who considered a three row SUV not too long ago. I'm not just another "commentator on the internet", I'm the actual person that would consider this product (BEV 3 row SUV) if it were compelling. I'm also not saying an EV should be cheaper or cost the same as their gas/hybrid alternative, but a base Telluride and a base EV9 are $15k apart. That is a large pill to swallow for most, specially when the EV9 isn't substantially better. I will say I didn't realize how expensive the Highland had become, so maybe the price different won't be too egregious here.

As for your other argument, Toyota is a well established brand, but using a well known nameplate has backfired in the past for other brands. How is that new Charger EV doing?

Lastly - Toyota, and most Japanese manufacturers really, have not been serious with their EV offerings. Toyota in particular has been slightly disdainful towards them and has been the one pushing the whole "hybrid" instead movement. The initial BZ line was very much a compliance vehicle. It seems like they are trying to be more serious with their latest offering, but these don't seem to be it.

Am I being overly harsh on the new Highlander? Probably. I may eat my words and it will sell well because people just trust Toyota, whether the product is good or bad is another topic altogether. Time will tell.

 

[Thedude]

Agreed, Aero is what it is, although an ev sedan isn’t an ev truck. In 1996 the mpg was 20/26/22 by 2018 Toyota had “improved“ to 20/23/21. When forced to make improvements Toyota offered a hybrid in 2024 or diesel in other markets for a midsize. Toyota had a reliable engine and rode that as long as possible to make more money. Could they have given us a more fuel efficient brick? Yes, but they didn’t. That is the legacy auto business model.

A ‘96 3.4 V6 was rated at 15/18/16 while making 190hp/220tq and a curb weight of about 3900lbs.

A 2018 3.5 V6 crew cab was rated at 18/22/20 making 278hp/265tq and a curb weight of about 4500lbs.

In other words, Toyota built a substantially larger dimensioned truck producing more power and weighing more while getting better fuel economy. Your numbers are accurate for the 2.7l I4 but like you mentioned, they chose to stick with that reliable little engine for a long time without many changes.

 

[TexasBob]

On the key metrics, this is very competitive with R2. For the same price, someone gets a three row (or a two row with lots of cargo space) plus the benefits of Toyota quality, stability, and service. I expect the XLE and the Limited AWD will be very competitive with the R2.

 

[Gen(R3)Xer]

Toyota Hilux EV pickup has 2,3x smaller battery than Rivian, engine total power like mitshubishi outlender phev in ev mode 14 years ago...

Toyota is probably making crappy EVs on purpose to make us praise hydrogen

I was listening to the EV podcast Ride the Lightning today and the host Ryan said he thinks that Toyota created the hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to purposely fail to try to prove that no one wants alternative fuels. This way they could tout the superiority of their hybrid drivetrains that they’ve been milking for decades.

Toyota also lobbied against stricter emissions standards and has tried blocking EV adoption at every turn, instead of innovating. They’re like the BlackBerry of automakers.

 

[eSUBA94]

I was listening to the EV podcast Ride the Lightning today and the host Ryan said he thinks that Toyota created the hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to purposely fail to try to prove that no one wants alternative fuels. This way they could tout the superiority of their hybrid drivetrains that they’ve been milking for decades.

Toyota also lobbied against stricter emissions standards and has tried blocking EV adoption at every turn, instead of innovating. They’re like the BlackBerry of automakers.

You might be right.
Toyota's management is sick.
They constantly lie in their TV commercials all over the world, even though they've been fined for lying in ads before – they still do it.

I wouldn't be surprised if they do it on purpose.
A year ago, a representative from Toyota's CEO gave a presentation at a NATO and European Union meeting, where he threatened politicians that there wouldn't be enough raw materials for BEVs and that the only solution was the wonderful Toyota...

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