Great Cars... Fabulous Places!
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Great Cars... Fabulous Places! |
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The Great the Bad and the Ugly By Rick Trawick
Over the past few weeks we have had the opportunity to sample all of these new Toyotas and we are coming away a little worried. It seems the folks at Toyota may have been listening a bit too closely to some auto writers complaining about how plain and overly conservative Toyota styling has been over the past decade. No one will be making that claim now, as Toyota has injected a unique “style” into the mix. The problem with adding style, especially when pushing the envelope a bit, is the possibility that some will be turned off. While the Camry has risen to the top of the sales chart with rather bland styling it is surprising that Toyota would mess with the formula, but mess with it they did. The good thing is that despite the newfound funkyness, the new Camry is still a great car. We tested the hybrid version and find it is one of the best of the hybrid breed. Toyota has been riding high on its hybrid technology and is the company you think of when think about hybrids.
While you don’t have to learn how to drive all over again to drive a hybrid, a few changes to your driving techniques can yield significant savings. Learning to recognize situations where you can completely release the accelerator, anticipating stops and keeping within the electric-only envelope when possible, become second nature after a few days with the Camry. You won’t be setting any speed records with this driving style, but you will be rewarded by those big numbers on the average MPG display. But don’t worry, thanks to that electric motor which offers its maximum torque at zero RPM, the Camry is no slouch. With a combined electric/gas horsepower of 192, it will hit 60 MPH in about 8.6 seconds. Not bad for a family sedan.
New for this year is the 3.5 liter V6, pumping out 270 horsepower, 55 more than last year. Coupled to a smooth-shifting 5-speed automatic, the Highlander is capable of quick acceleration whenever needed. The nice performance has a price to pay, the EPA mileage figures are 17 City/23 Highway. We saw an average of 19 mpg during our testing on regular fuel. If you are looking for better mileage, there is a hybrid version of the Highlander, we haven’t tested it yet, but it should give similar economy gains as other Toyota hybrids.
The other appeal this type of vehicle has is the four-wheel-drive capabilities. Mind you, this is not a serious off-road machine, but it is fully equipped to deal with whatever may come your way on the road. Electronics constantly monitor the status of each wheel and transmit this information to the Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management system (VDIM). The VDIM system can react to an upset of the vehicle well before most drivers can sense there may be a problem. The system can help correct skids, maintain a straight line during severe braking and even send clues to the driver through the steering wheel on which way to steer in slippery/skidding conditions. Also included are a hill-start control that keeps the Highlander from rolling backwards after a stop on a steep grade and a Downhill Assist Control to help maintain control during descents on steep and slippery slopes. If you do exceed the limits of all of the sophisticated electronics, it is nice to know that the new Highlander also incorporates the latest in airbag technology. In addition to the two front advanced technology airbags, front seat-mounted side airbags, a drivers knee airbag and full-length side-curtain airbags to protect all three rows in the event of a roll-over. A back-up camera features a small display on the dash to show you what is directly behind when the transmission is in reverse. Very handy to spot the bicycle that one of the kids left behind the car! There are three grades of Highlander, Base, Sport. All levels may be had in 2 or 4-wheel drive. We already talked about the price of our Limited test car, but the Base 2-wheel drive is starts at $27,300.
For 2008 Toyota has expanded the Tundra product line to include 13 more variations. With a choice of three engines, three cab types, three bed lengths, three trim levels and your choice of 2 or 4-wheel-drive, there are certainly plenty of choices for picky American truck buyers.
On the road, the Tundra drives and handles, well, like a truck. The ride felt a touch more harsh than our long-term test Ford F-250 Crew Cab but the Ford has a bit longer wheelbase to help smooth the ride.
So can the Toyota stack up, one-on-one with the big guys? Numbers wise, it matches or beats Ford and Chevy. But truck buyers look at more than just the numbers. Ford and Chevy marketing execs will be the first to admit it is incredibly difficult to woo a buyer from one brand to another, not just to a foreign nameplate. (The Tundra is built in a brand-new Texas plant by the way.) The price of admission to Toyota’s new truck starts at $22,290. Our 4x4 Double Cab SR5 was $35,008 with destination. So what’s up at Toyota? What’s great? Well, the Camry is the largest selling sedan in America and the hybrid version has great fuel economy. The Highlander stacks up well in the toughest SUV segment in America. And the Tundra has finally arrived with the stuff to take on what Americans call a TRUCK. The bad? For as much as Toyota is known for its small, frugal, hybrid vehicles, they also make some of the largest and thirstiest. Each of their latest introductions has been larger with bigger engines. It was probably a good marketing idea at the time the projects were started but in the current fuel price cycle folks are looking for better economy, not more power. And the ugly? As I am quick to admit, beauty (and ugliness) is in the eye of the beholder, but in my eyes recent Toyota styling has gone a little to the funky side of town and I don’t mean that in a 70’s kind of good funky. Toyota has made their money selling very pedestrian but uncannily reliable vehicles. Let’s spend the time on reliability, let someone else be a styling trend setter. For more details and specifications check out Toyota’s website at www.toyota.com. |
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This is a tale of three new Toyotas, the Camry Hybrid, the
Highlander and the Tundra. The title here may leave you wondering so I will get
right to it. 
Even though Honda was the first to the hybrid party here
in the US, Toyota has passed Honda in number of hybrid models and sales. Chalk
it up to Toyota’s more thorough implementation of electric power in its hybrid
vehicles. Whereas Honda uses an electric motor to allow the gasoline engine to
be stopped and restarted at stoplights, Toyota’s system has a larger electric
motor capable of operating the Camry on electric power alone. This electric mode
operation is only available at relatively low speeds and loads but is great for
things like drive-thru’s where you are stop and go for several minutes at a
time. The Camry’s electric motor moves the car forward without the need to
restart the gasoline engine. I also found that using very light pressure on the
accelerator pedal
on even slight downhill grades would keep the gasoline power
off-line up to about 35 mph. After a while I learned to turn into my
neighborhood, let the gas engine stop, ease the electric mode up to about 30,
then coast the rest of the way into my driveway on electric power alone. Check
out the photo for my final combined city/highway average after just a week of
driving the hybrid system. 
In the Camry tradition, it is a roomy 5-passenger sedan
with plenty of trunk space for a family vacation, although the hybrid battery
steals about 5 cubic feet from the trunk over the non-hybrid Camry’s. The rear
seat folds down but the pass-through feature to the trunk has also been limited
by the battery. Fit and finish are typical of what you would expect in a Toyota,
nearly flawless. If you are in the market for a reliable, economical and
earth-friendly family sedan, the Camry is the measuring stick by which everyone
else will be compared. The price of our test Camry Hybrid comes to $27,239
including destination charges. 
Moving up the size ladder, we have the all-new for 2008
Toyota Highlander. Our test vehicle was a well equipped Highland Limited carried
a sticker price with options and destination of $39,639, a pretty steep price
for mid-sized SUV’s. Granted, this is the top-line version with almost all of
the options one could check off. 
Most folks in the market for this type of vehicle need
room for people and their stuff. The Highlander delivers in this area with
seating for up to seven in three rows. A clever center section of the middle
seat can be stowed in the center console, opening up a narrow pass-through to
the third row seat. Access to those third row seats is reasonable with
easy-to-operate flip and slide seats. Conversion to cargo carrying is easy by
flipping down the third row seats then pulling on a rear compartment lever to
remotely flip down the center-row seats. The three zone automatic temperature
control keeps everyone comfortable. The rear section features its own
air-conditioner, no worries on hot July days. 
Last, but by no means least is the new Tundra. If you
always think “small car” when you hear Toyota mentioned, be ready for a real
shock. This is another instance where Toyota may have listened too closely to
the automotive press. Toyota has been trying for years to bring a truck to the
market that will compete head-to-head with the largest selling vehicles in the
United States, namely the Ford F-150 and the Chevy Silverado. Their first entry
was the T-100 pickup. While a very nicely executed truck, the T-100 was roasted
in the press for being too small and only offering a V6 engine. Toyota’s next
shot was the first generation Tundra. Again, a very nice truck, but again
attacked for being a little smaller than the Americans, although a V8 was now
available. Well, not to be caught a third time, the new Tundra introduced in
early 2007 was bigger in every dimension than the American competition. Just in
time for $3.00/gallon gasoline! 
So does the new Tundra have the mettle to stack up against
the tried and true Americans? Our test Tundra was a Double Cab, 4-wheel-drive
with the 5.7 liter V8 and 6-speed automatic transmission. The big engine packs
381 horsepower and, important for trucks, 401 lbs-ft of torque. The
electronically controlled transmission includes a Tow/Haul mode that programs
the transmission to better handle heavy loads. The Tundra stacks up well against
the competition in the power department. Cargo capacities are up to 1,925 pounds
and its towing capacity can be as much as a whopping 16,000 pounds with the
proper option boxes checked. 
Inside, the controls are easy to reach, and oversized for
gloved hands, but the layout seems random and a little confusing at first.
Things like the fan speed control which is in-line with the rest of the HVAC
controls but against a different background so it doesn’t look like it belongs
with the rest of the heater knobs. (the fan knob is the far left in the photo).
Regardless, all of the controls operate with the quality feel and precision that
we have come to expect in a Toyota. The interior is also sprinkled with storage
everywhere. One of the things Toyota found in its research was people want
places to store everything from coffee cups to clipboards to laptop computers in
their work trucks and the Tundra has a place for it. The center console alone
has enough room for another passenger. Drivers are firmly supported in the 8-way
power seat, and combined with the tilt-telescopic steering wheel it is easy to
find a comfortable position for the long haul. Rear passengers have an easy
entry via the full-sized forward-opening rear doors.