Releasing a new electric vehicle for the United States in the year of our lord, 2026, is not for the faint of heart. But if there’s any manufacturer that can do it, it’s the biggest one in the world: Toyota. The Japanese automotive juggernaut announced today plans to convert the Highlander, once its best-selling crossover, into an electric vehicle, allowing its gas-powered sibling, the Grand Highlander, to take a more prominent role in the lineup.
What else is going on? Nissan’s in the news again, for a move that feels right for them. The company aims to focus more on plug-in vehicles, such as PHEVs and EREVs, in the near term to keep the brand afloat amid its restructuring. At the same time, Mazda has revealed, for what feels like the billionth time, that it really wants to build a production rotary sports car.
Then there’s Automotive Cells Company. It’s a joint venture project between Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz, and TotalEnergies that’s been around for a few years now. It originally planned to open up battery factories in Germany and Italy, to supplement its sole facility in France, but now, thanks to Stellantis’s turnaround on EVs, it sounds like that’s no longer happening. Let’s get into it.
The Highlander As You Know It Is Dead. Meet The New Highlander
It’s the Monday after the Super Bowl, which means the United States is still recovering from an evening full of binge drinking, snack-eating, and screaming at a television in the hopes Bad Bunny would sing “I Like It” alongside Cardi B so their five-leg parlay would hit (if yours did, congrats!) Also, congratulations to the Seattle Seahawks, who, from where I was watching, shut down any hopes of the New England Patriots getting anywhere near the endzone pretty early on, and often.
Those who watched the Big Game will know Toyota ran two commercials this year. Both were tugging-on-heartstrings plays, with the first being a 30-second spot centering around a lasting relationship between grandfather and grandson, with the RAV4 as the star. The second commercial recruited a few famous athletes—NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace, Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua, and Paralympian Oksana Masters—as they connect with their younger selves.
The company waited until Monday to reveal the real news: It’s turning the Highlander, a vehicle that once topped the sales charts in the U.S., into a full-blown electric vehicle. Toyota released an 11-second teaser video (below) showing off a part of the rear end, along with an extremely short announcement confirming only the very basics:
Meet the all-new 2027 Highlander. Featuring sleek, modern lines, an electric powertrain, and a spacious three-row cabin with comfort for the whole crew. #LetsGoPlaces
While releasing an EV at a time when electric vehicle growth in America is starting to flatten out seems like a risky play, Toyota has a history of knowing what it’s doing. It was right to hold off on a huge investment in EVs early on, and it was right to pour its efforts into hybrids. So, presumably, it should be right about turning the Highlander into an EV… right?
Personally, I think it’s a smart move. The normal Highlander, Toyota’s flagship three-row crossover, was a massive hit for the brand for decades and has, for years, been a cornerstone of its lineup. But it was marked for irrelevancy the second the Grand Highlander hit the market. Who in their right mind would choose the regular Highlander when, for a few hundred dollars more, you get a nicer interior, better safety systems, and way more space in the third row and trunk areas?
Sales of both models have reflected that sentiment. The Grand Highlander has been quickly stealing market share from the normal Highlander since its debut in 2023. In that year, the regular Highlander outsold the Grand Highlander 3.5 to one. In 2025, the Grand Highlander outsold the regular Highlander nearly 2.5 to one. Oh, how the turns have tabled.
For 2026, the Highlander is actually now more expensive than the Grand Highlander, since Toyota dropped the front-wheel drive trim from the lineup. Everyone sort of assumed the Highlander would go away after this year, but instead, it’s being turned into an EV. This is smart because it solves a couple of problems at once. The first is that it avoids having to kill off a nameplate, and the second is that it uses the Highlander’s strong brand authority, meaning Toyota doesn’t have to put a bunch of effort into getting customers to learn a new model name (look how well that’s been going for the bZ4X).
Like the bZ4X, the all-electric Highlander will almost certainly be a very low-production model (by Toyota standards, anyway). But still, it’s a clean, seamless way to transition the Highlander from an outdated, uncompetitive model to an all-new EV, while keeping the Grand Highlander untouched so it can continue to dominate the three-row segment. It’s possible there’s still a gas-powered version, but I doubt it.
Nissan Smartly Prioritizes Plug-Ins To Keep Itself Alive
The past few years have been pretty scary for Nissan. Back in 2024, an exec said the company had “12 to 14 months to survive,” and nearly got bought out by Honda. Since then, Nissan has gotten a new CEO who has implemented a restructuring plan called “Re:Nissan” to get the brand back on track.
That plan, which includes improving margins and a new Xterra, has had the Japanese automaker chugging along into 2026. Now, it’s being adjusted a bit to reflect the demand (or lack thereof) of EVs in the near future. From Automotive News:
While Nissan remains committed to battery-electric vehicles in the long term, Espinosa said the company is adjusting the pace of EV investment to reflect weaker demand, charging infrastructure constraints, reduced government support and evolving regulations, particularly in the U.S. and Europe.
In Europe, automakers are facing tighter fleet CO2 targets and pressure to balance compliance with profitability as incentives for EVs are scaled back in key markets such as Germany and France.
As part of that adjustment, Nissan will expand its proprietary e-Power technology to include plug-in hybrid and extended-range electric vehicle derivatives, which can help lower fleet emissions while offering customers longer range and greater flexibility.
“We will have derivatives of e-Power that could come in the form of a PHEV or EREV,” Espinosa said.
The first entry into this push is coming this year, but it won’t really be a Nissan at all. Sure, the Rogue Plug-In Hybrid wears a Nissan badge, but it’s very much just a lazily rebadged Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. As AutoNews mentions, vehicles with Nissan’s own e-Power hybrid tech will likely follow next year before the company gets serious about EVs.
Mazda, We Get It. Your Employees Want Rotaries. We Do Too
It feels like Mazda has been teasing the idea of bringing back the rotary sports car for a decade. In reality, it’s been eight years since the company showed off the original Vision Coupe concept. It’s shown off three more rotary-powered concepts since, with executives giving interviews saying the company definitely wants to bring back the rotary sports car, but never giving a timeline or firm commitment to actually doing it.
The guy in charge of Mazda’s design just did it again in an interview with Auto Express, revealing there are a whole lot of people within the brand who want it to happen as well:
The Japanese brand signalled its intention to put the Iconic SP into production a year after the concept was unveiled at 2023 Tokyo Motor Show. Masashi Nakayama, general manager of Mazda’s design division, stated at the time that “it has been designed with real intent to turn it into a production model in the not-so-distant future.”
But despite attention being focused on the new Mazda CX-5 SUV and a more serious move into electric cars, the project isn’t dead. “If there’s a feasible way to do that, then I’m sure if somebody will do it, it’s Mazda, because here the enthusiasts still make things happen,” the brand’s product planning supervisor in Europe, Moritz Oswald, told Auto Express in an exclusive interview. “I think at the moment the MX-5 is still our halo car that stands for everything that Mazda products should. Could there be something next to it or above? Yes.”
“The amount of car enthusiasts in this company is insane,” he said. “Everybody loves cars, so of course there is a deep desire to keep on launching emotional products. So are we looking into that? Yes, of course. But again, we are also a company that has to bring in revenues.”
I’m not sure how many more “looking into thats” I have left in me. I’m tired, boss.
Stellantis And Mercedes Say Nah To More Battery Factories In Europe
Back in 2020, Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz, and French petroleum company TotalEnergies launched a joint venture called Automotive Cells Company (ACC), with the goal of building batteries in factories across Europe. So far, it has just one functioning factory in France, and had plans to open two more, in Germany and Italy. Until now.
Because Stellantis is chilling out its EV plans (and taking a $26 billion loss over it), ACC is doing the same, and looking to lay off workers in France to stay afloat. From Bloomberg:
ACC, the battery joint venture between Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz Group AG and TotalEnergies SE, said it doesn’t expect conditions to restart the German and Italian projects to be met, according to an emailed statement. It had placed them on standby in May 2024.
While the company said it will maintain its industrial capacity in France, it is in discussions with French unions on possible partial unemployment measures, as it considers “all sorts of options to try and shore up its finances,” ACC General Secretary Matthieu Hubert said in a phone interview on Saturday.
Stellantis said it “takes note of ACC’s decision to enter discussions with social partners with a view to halting the gigafactory projects in Germany and Italy,” according to an emailed statement from a spokesperson. Stellantis is “closely monitoring the situation.” A media representative for the automaker declined to comment on ACC’s French talks with labor unions.
This probably doesn’t mean much in the long term when it comes to EV adoption. But in the short term, it’s yet another signal that hybrids are going to be the dominant factor of this decade.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
Bad Bunny killed it during the halftime show, but since Matt shared a Bad Bunny song on Friday, I thought I’d share a song performed during the show by another artist, Lady Gaga: “Die With A Smile.” Sadly, tickets to Lady Gaga’s latest tour, The Mayham Ball, are still at least $587 per seat in my area. And that’s a shame.
The Big Question
Do you think Toyota bringing an EV to market in 2026 is the right call?
Top graphic image: Toyota
As a current Highlander owner, I love this idea! I also hate it because the price will skyrocket, dealer availability will tank and “market adjustment pricing” will soar. Probably own my last Highlander due to this move.
“The amount of car enthusiasts in this company is insane,” he said. “Everybody loves cars, so of course there is a deep desire to keep on launching emotional products.”
MOO!!! MOOOOO!!!!!
From where I sit, admittedly the cheap seats in the nose bleed, Mazda’s lineup is entirely mundane.
Forgettable CUVs in drab colors. Yawn.
Oh there’s the ND Miata, great car, a real world class sports car.
Too bad Mazda has long since abandoned it to wither on the vine.
The last real updates were in 2019. Lately they don’t even bother to throw a new shade of gray paint on it, Mazda can’t be bothered.
So what do the insane amount of car enthusiasts who work at Mazda do all day? They sure don’t do exciting updates to the Miata.
A company that gave a poop and had a car like the Miata would make sure it gets better each year.
“Toyota has a history of knowing what it’s doing.”
How’s that whole hydrogen car thing working out?
Yeah, and they’re ceding emerging markets to China. Toyota is temporarily looking good amid the EV pullback but I don’t think they’re doing themselves any favors long term.
Truth be told, Mazda could probably put the Vision X Coupe into production with their inline six standard and a rotary as an upmarket option and be successful, even if only as a more enthusiast-friendly Crosstrek competitor.
So long as they keep the ground clearance around CX30 level, I’d buy one.
“Do you think Toyota bringing an EV to market in 2026 is the right call?”
Yes. And in my view, the Prius should have gone EV by now as well… and then just have the Corolla sedan and hatch as their hybrid in that segment.
Though I find it odd that something called the ‘Highlander’ is more expensive than something called the ‘Grand Highlander’
Anyway… I think it’s a good move by Toyota to have a mix of hybrids and EVs. The EVs will likely sell better in the EU and China.
Yeah, I am not sure why the Prius is still a hybrid! It’s weird because the Camry/Corolla fuel economy figures are really close to the Prius, so the Prius is only for people who want a Corolla sized car but with a hatchback I guess? The extra utility and rear windshield wiper in the Prius is nice though; that would definitely sway me to purchase one over a Corolla.
But yeah, having a Model 3 competitor from Toyota would be awesome. Now that the Ioniq 6 has been pulled from the US, the Model 3 is literally in a class of its own. Midsize sedans don’t sell that well in the US anymore, but they still have a significant market share.
I think we’re still getting the new CLA EV later this year though, right? Or was that another tariff fatality?
I think so, but I watched Harry’s Garage’s review on it, and it looks so disappointing that I stopped caring about it lol.
Haven’t seen that one. The other reviews I’ve seen were promising, but we’re probably just going to buy out our i6 when the lease ends, so I haven’t looked that hard.
Hey my partner has an I6! Such a cool car. Shame they aren’t coming here anymore.
Have you watched the Ioniq Guy’s recent video on buying out your lease?
Typically it isn’t a very good deal compared to buying a used car with similar miles.
We’ve looked at the market. It’ll probably be a couple thousand more to buy out the lease than get a used one, but we know the car’s history and we’re attached to it. Not the best, but not terrible either.
Given how few sold, I can see why they’re not bringing it over, but I’m sad all we get are Canyonero EVs and no proper cars. I don’t really dig sedans since I’m more of a hatch/wagon gal, but I’ll take more cars on the road over big honking SUVs. Lol
Well that makes sense if your residual is only a bit higher than what’s on the used market.
I’m sure Hyundai would have continued bringing the I6 here even if it wasn’t a good seller, if not for the insane and illogical tariffs imposed by the current administration.
Maybe. Rumor has it the 6N will still make it over if you’ve got a need for speed. LOL
Toyota Battery Manufacturing (TBMNC) went online in November of last year.
Now they can ramp up EV Production in the US while directly managing the most crucial part of the product.
Hopefully, they see enough demand to bring more of the EVs over here. I think the Trailseeker with that bigger battery would sell a lot more than this or the inevitable e-Ascent.
“Why The Toyota Highlander Becoming An EV Makes A Ton Of Sense”. Is this a pun?
Given the number of Kia EV9’s around me, yes, this is brilliant. The local Toyota dealer will sell every one they get. Lots of hockey families looking to spend serious coin on a family hauler that won’t take up time at the gas station. That’s a luxury that a Suburban doesn’t have. The badge also isn’t throwing money around obviously.
Where do you live? In KC I can count on one hand how many EV9’s I have seen.
Western NY. I see 5-6 different ones regularly.
Very interesting. I see them so infrequently that it’s a note-worthy sighting every time.
Interesting. I’m in “middle”(?) NY a lot, and I do see a lot more EVs there. I think NY still has some nice state incentives.
I was just thinking how annoying it must be to go to a gas station with a car full of kids! I would definitely pay money to avoid that hassle if I was a parent, lol.
I have an EV and an elementary age child. No gas station visits is so nice! Especially when the car is loaded with kids. The torque also shuts them up quick.
That is very cool! No gas station visits in general is nice, and I do not have kids. I can imagine there are a lot of “I suddenly need to pee because we’re stopped” and “can we get a candy bar” conversations that are avoided when owning an EV!
Filling up with gas is kind of very inconvenient and annoying, but so ingrained in our society that we all just get used to it until we don’t have to do it anymore (or in my case, very rarely have to since I do still own once ICE car). It is so freaking nice not to have to stand outside in the bitter cold and hope that a stray drop of gas doesn’t fly onto my clothes a couple of times per week!
On road trips we do tend to buy something small if we use the bathroom at a place. Day to day we don’t. Going point to point in daily life without worrying about gas has been so freeing. Even on camping trips that have electric hookups (which is most), not worrying about finding gas is wonderful. The pain of having to unhook the camper to charge is made up by avoiding later pain finding charging at the destination.
Much better than the slam-on-the-brakes technique my friend’s dad used to use and probably just as effective.
My brother has a Model S in some sort of performance spec. When his kid gets unruly, he says “Do you want me to engage roller coaster mode?” and the threat of being pinned to the seat usually works.
Nothing like a sudden jolt to shut them down. I can prepare since I know when I’m hitting the juice pedal. Kids don’t. Respect mah authoritah!
Good Lord, how did I manage with four kids and going to the gas station!!??
Oh, well, uh, it was no big deal. In and out in five minutes.
That is extremely interesting. May I ask where you live? I have seen very vew EV9s and Ioniq9s around me. However EV adoption overall is low in my area, which is a little weird. I think those two EVs are pretty amazing value for money, and the Ioniq 9 is quite the looker as well.
Not interested if it’s full EV. Too bad the GH looks 100x better than the standard Highlander. The looks aren’t worth an extra $20K though.
Uhhhh, the GH starts bout $4k cheaper than the Highlander. It’s also quite a bit bigger. The only real reason the GH gets any more expensive is because it has the Hybrid Max powertrain available; if you spec the same-same as possible, price ends up being really close between the two. It’s not even really possible to spec any GH $20k more than even a base Highlander, unless you start adding on every stupid accessory the dealer will sell you like a $105 screen protector and $1500 Dometic cooler.
Careful, there were an awful lot of facts and logic in your post! That may not sit well with the OP </sarcasm>
I don’t really care. GH is too expensive on the used market.
All Toyotas are too expensive on the used market.
Important to point out that sunsetting the regular Highlander makes sense since they need the production capacity at TMMI for the Sienna and Grand Highlander. Toyota has previously announced that they will be producing a BEV at TMMK so I would wager that is where this one is getting built.
Toyota Bringing Battery Electric Vehicle Production to Kentucky – Toyota USA Newsroom
Hopefully, whatever line is getting the EV Highlander will be able to do an EV Sienna too…
Riddle me this, how does Toyota having 10 or 12 SUVs not cannibalize each others sales but Toyota has a sh*tting hemmeraage at the thought of a third pickup cannibalising the Tacomas sales?
Oh man, I remember when my husband first saw a Venza and realized it was … something different from a RAV4.
An electric car with a normal name? Absurd.
They could’ve given it a dope electric car name like Highlander E-motion Powerforce Max.
The HEMPM! I think it needs an X or an I in there somewhere. Just to make it pop.
Or the high voltage
the iD.Highlander-e Powered by EQ i-Force Technology
“Geoff”
“ The Toyota Highlander Becoming An EV Makes A Ton Of Sense”
I think it’ll be closer to four tons of sense.
No, and this is as someone who love BEVs.
What they should have done is come out with the Maverick Hybrid competitor.
Give it an actual 4WD system (which can be done with a FWD based layout) with a mechanical lever for engagement for at least one of the trims.
If Unibody give it a passthrough.
If BOF give us bed and body options not locked behind stupid drivetrain options (like how you can’t get a Manual Transmission 2 Door Tacoma, or a Manual Transmission 2WD Tacoma with any body style)
Either that or a Range extended BEV.
They seem to have a Maverick competitor in the works. They showed teaser pics of what looks like a trucklet last month.
They’re moving so slowly that Ford managed to mostly get their act together with the Maverick.
Ford can’t help but shoot themselves in the dick and Toyota waited so long that Ford got bored of doing that.
It’s one thing to play conservatively, it’s another to play dead very convincingly.
It is very strange to me that everyone saw the Maverick’s success coming from a mile away and yet FIVE YEARS after it was unveiled there still isn’t a single serious competitor
I think they look at the Santa Cruz and say the market isn’t there, but the Santa Cruz doesn’t look full truck or have a hybrid option. Ford literally gave everyone the formula to copy, and Toyota has the best position to but I guess they’re making enough of the RAV4 without cannibalizing that production line for another model.
While yes the Santa Cruz is a failure bc of the lack of hybrid and styling, I think it’s also in part because it’s a non-American truck, something that affects Toyota’s trucks too. I’m not sure if they can sell this truck in other markets, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was North America only since they already have the Hilux and others elsewhere.
I think it’s understandable that they’re quite cautious about bringing a competitor for these reasons. They’d also likely have to make a non-hybrid version (since eCVTs aren’t great for towing) which would get poor fuel economy at a time when Toyota was trying to hit CAFE targets with only hybrids and miniscule EV sales (until CAFE was paused ofc). Plus like you mentioned, the RAV4 already sells well enough to hit capacity.
Indeed
I’m thinking that Big car companies, and Big car executives can only get Big bonuses if they sell Big vehicles.
Maybe we’ll find out from Torch’s Toyota event.
It would be great if Toyota made a Maverick competitor! However, right now, there is very little competition in the large, three-row EV SUV segment. It’s basically the Hyundai Ioniq 9 and Kia EV9; all other options are way more expensive.
For once, it seems like Toyota might be getting its foot into a competitive segment before it gets flooded with other manufacturer’s options.
Yeah, even the sites that usually hate on Toyota are having positive press on this one, so this is going to be interesting…
It depends on what the goal is. It will not be good for consumers. Clearly they want to force more people into the bigger, more expensive Grand Highlander…which is a perfectly fine car, it’s just more car than the majority of people need. I see them all the time and they’re deceptively big, cumbersome vehicles.
The regular Highlander is a true Goldilocks vehicle as is, which is why they sell a bajillion of them. It’s a manageable size for city dwellers, it’s the perfect interior size for a family of 4, and it was a hybrid 20 years before anyone else brought a hybrid to the class. It’s a pretty perfect family car for people that don’t want a van for whatever reason but don’t feel the need to assert their dominance in something like a Tahoe.
And cross the street at the Hyundai dealership you can get a Santa Fe hybrid that’s probably 15% cheaper after incentives, has a nicer interior, edgier exterior styling, and serves the same purpose. I don’t know how easy it’ll be the upsell those customers to a Grand Highlander. Yes, I know commentariat-Korean car BAD, Japanese car PERFECT IN EVERY WAY,
I also don’t know how easy it’ll be to sell those customers on a BEV because roadtrip ability is always a priority for them. Are the actual EV sacrifices that big of a deal IRL? Most of the time no, but we’re talking about non-car people buying family haulers. It’s about vibes.
I actually think they’d lose customers doing this…the Koreans now have cheater 3 row and big boi 3 row hybrids, and Honda is finishing up a hybrid system for the Pilot and Odyssey. I think they’ve kind of underestimated how much people like the regular Highlander, but I’m sure someone has a presentation on how doing this will make line go UP, so that’s that.
If they really want a BEV in this category I’m not sure why they wouldn’t just make the Crown one. They’re already a weird niche vehicle that are electrified so it wouldn’t be THAT much of a stretch.
Speaking from firsthand experience with the Grand Highlander, it isn’t any bigger than the Current Pilot or Tellu/sade. We cross shopped it, but the Honda was significantly cheaper. It just visually looks massive because it is a generic box. with flat sides. They’re all within a couple of inches in size to each other. IMO Sunsetting the smaller regular highlander to free up production capacity for the GH and Sienna makes sense, since you can’t get Sienna. It is a 6-12 month lead time for one around here. They’re all built at TMMI
That said, I don’t really see the market viability for three row EVs. Hyundai/Kia sells a handful of the Ioniq/EV9 but man I just don’t see the point. It screams we need an EV to sell for regulatory compliance that isn’t the BZ, and we were slow developing our plans.
Agreed, the Grand Highlander visually looks larger than it is. Park it next to any competitor and they are more or less the same size.
I think they’re hoping that no one really knows the difference between the current Highlander and the Grand, so all the ICE/HEV buyers stay with the Grand. I feel like even if they weren’t bringing the EV they might’ve discontinued the non-Grand Highlander anyways.
The Crowns are a weird lineup that don’t really fit the US market IMO, but they brought them just because they already existed and could still sell a few because of the badge; I don’t think a BEV Crown would work rn, here or internationally. They can position the Highlander a traditionally styled alternative to the Ioniq 9/EV9.
Are people really banging down the doors for an EV9 or Ioniq 9 though? Like, cool….you can give an alternative to all 3 people that are considering a BEV 3 row lol
Yeeeaaaahhhh that’s kind of what I’m thinking too. A lot of people think that Toyota was smart because they didn’t commit hard to EVs early, but I feel like they didn’t actually commit much less than other brands (VW & Nissan also only really brought a 2-row crossover at first) and have accidentally ended up looking good in this situation. However, I think they actually just committed late, which has resulted in new EVs launching at an awkward time with the C-HR (probs good) and this Highlander (questionable).
Also when searching for Toyota’s EV plans, I think this Highlander was originally supposed to be named bZ5X but was given the Highlander nameplate after the switch away from that naming scheme. They could’ve just named it the Highlander EV if they wanted to keep the non-Grand Highlander around, so unless they’re stupid they probably wanted to discontinue it independent of the new EV coming out.
I wonder if Stellantis will follow suit and cash in on the Caravan’s name recognition and surprise everyone with a Dodge Caravan EV, keeping the current Grand Caravan as, uh, I guess extinct.
I honestly think the Dodge Caravan should be the entry level version of the next generation Pacifica, instead of selling it as a Chrysler Voyager. Also, there should really be a next generation Pacifica
That’s what they do in Canada. The Grand Caravan name is/was very big here, so instead of the Voyager, it’s called the Chrysler Grand Caravan. It still doesn’t sell a tenth as well as the Dodge Caravan did, though.
Because the Caravan is a Dodge, everybody knows that, they need to stop confusing people. And change the plastic parts of the body to make that clear
No one is confused – Chryslers and Dodges are essentially always sold at the same dealers. The issue is that the Chrysler’s MSRP is nearly double that of what Dodge Grand Caravans were selling for in their last model year. Plus, they did away with the rugged simplicity of the Caravan which made it so attractive to Canadians. The final-gen Dodge Grand Caravan never seemed to directly compete with the Odyssey/Sienna, it was wholly differentiated as an affordable and tough van with flexibility as either a blue-collar work vehicle or a family hauler, whereas the current Chrysler tries hard to be more “luxurious” like other minivans, but is let down by its poor reliability and unattractive price. Not many people would take a Pacifica over a Carnival or Odyssey.
I’m still disappointed the Portal never made it to production despite initial assertions it would. Dodge/Chrysler has been promising us useful/cool EVs since the 00s though and has brought nothing that actually would interest someone who wants a BEV (sorry Charger).
I want my Zeo or Portal. I don’t care if they want to slap an old name on them for the recognition to move a few more.
The Highlander thing makes sense. Toyota has a bunch of other SUVs that can stay gas or hybrid. Having a good EV in that segment will pay off long term I would guess.
I’m curious to see the Highlander EV. For how utterly fantastic Toyota’s hybrids are, their sole EV entry is beyond disappointing and completely uncompetitive. I’ve always had the feeling that Toyota made the Bz4x just so they could check off a box in their lineup, and therefore didn’t dedicate the resources necessary to the platform.
Hopefully the Highlander is a departure from that and will show off Toyota’s engineering chops in the fully electric department. There aren’t that many 3-row EVs on the market and the (admittedly excellent) Kia EV9 and Hyundai Ioniq 9 are the only reasonably-priced ones. Hopefully Toyota will be able to offer a truly competitive alternative to the Hyundai twins.
I honestly have no idea why anyone would buy an ICE or hybrid 3-row EV in this day and age, unless they have very weird driving habits that involve huge amounts of driving and can’t charge at home. All large, three-row SUVs get atrocious fuel economy. The PHEV CX-90 can barely manage 25 MPG and has an electric-only range of only 26 miles, which is almost useless. Real-world numbers on the Grand Highlander hybrid show that it never really cracks 30 MPG. These vehicles are hugely expensive to own in hybrid/ICE form. An EV version would reduce “fuel” costs dramatically, especially if the owner can charge at home, not to mention be quieter, more powerful, and require significantly less maintenance.
I agree with this take, but, I’m worried the “big, expensive AWD EV” category is already flooded with choices.
It’s flooded with ICE or hybrid choices, but not full EV choices. More competition in this category should bring prices for EV three-row SUVs to rough parity with ICE/hybrid versions.
Also, hopefully the Highlander isn’t “expensive.” All three-row SUVs seem pretty darn expensive to me, but the Ioniq 9 is so much cheaper than something like the Rivian R1S or Lucid Gavity.
If someone wants a three-row SUV currently in the US for roughly the same money as an ICE/hybrid one, their options are literally only the Ioniq 9 or EV9. Again, those are fantastic vehicles (I own the Ioniq 5 and absolutely love it), but more choices are always better!
Actually, for the normie 3 row crossover (with an actual usable 3rd row) for under 50K, there are only 2-3 options: Ioniq9 (found in the low 40’s on autotrader) and the EV9 (found in the low 40’s new). The ID BUZZ might count if the rebates stack up (There are some in the low 40’s if you look).
That’s pretty much it.
I assume those are for the RWD version, which is pretty light on features.
Sort of? First, if you compare lease deals, the I9 and EV9 start to look a lot more competitive on price with ICE/hybrid vehicles in this class.
Second, I guess it depends on what you define as “light on features.” Even the base SE RWD trims come with adaptive cruise and lane keep, heated seats, LED headlights, automatic climate control, wireless CarPlay/AA, a wireless charger, second and third row air vents, auto power windows, etc. There is no stripper model devoid of basic functionality.
Yes and no. There were some mid-range models mixed in for not a lot more. Also, now that the EV9 has been out for a year or two, there are much cheaper depreciated used ones. Ironically, there isn’t much of a depreciation drop between the 30k mile ones and the 75k mile ones.
Oh yeah, I forgot about the ID Buzz. The range isn’t very good and it charges very slowly, so I don’t think it’s really competitive in this segment or as an EV in general, but I’m glad you mentioned it! The interior packaging is really fantastic and it looks so cool. It’s a shame VW totally dropped the ball with the software, architecture, and battery size.
I agree with most of this, minus people buying ICE/ Hybrid 3 rows. The 3 row crossover is now the quintessential family hauler that needs to do everything well. Sure, most putt around town getting meh MPGs, but it also needs to do roadtrips easily. With more than 2 kids, the goal is to get to the destination ASAP and sitting at chargers for 30-45 mins (at best) every 200 or so miles isn’t going to work great for the average American family.
I totally understand why you think that’s what EV road trips look like, but as an EV owner, let me explain why that really isn’t the case.
First, if families are traveling with children, stopping every 200-ish miles is mandatory, not optional. Kids need to use the bathroom and stop to eat proper meals. When I was a kid, we regularly drove from PA to NH, and what would take me 6 hours to drive alone today took us 8-9 hours because we had to stop so much.
Since those kind of stops already tend to take 15-30 minutes, the car is just going to sit. If it charges during that time, that means that it’s adding range while stopped when an ICE/Hybrid would just be sitting idly.
Second, EVs with 800v architectures simply do not take 30-45 minutes to charge. The Hyundai Ioniq 9 with the big battery has a 10%-80% charge time of 24 minutes, and that isn’t a pie-in-the-sky number. My Ioniq 5 has a 10%-80% charge time of 18 minutes, and I actually see those numbers every time I fast charge. The Ioniq 9 is freaking huge and has a very usable third row, so that 24 minute 10-80% time is relatively slow compared to other, smaller 800v EVs. Also, with the big battery, it’s rated for 311 miles of range, which means that in good conditions, it can easily go around 250 miles before it needs to be charged, assuming it’s going from 10% to 80%.
Road tripping with an 800v EV in 2026 isn’t worse than with an ICE car. It’s just different. People who have never owned an EV focus way too much on charge times, ignoring that when the car is already stopped to use the bathroom/get food, if it charges during that time, it isn’t adding any time to your trip!
I also want to add that I do think people who have only owned ICE cars focus way too much on the 5% of their driving that is road trips and ignore the 90% of driving that isn’t. I have put over 2500 miles on my Ioniq 5 and have fast charged it precisely twice. By the way, both times, my car was done charging before I was ready to leave (because I got coffee the first time and Chipotle the second time, and by the time my order was ready, I had to unplug to avoid idle fees!)
I’m not saying that road trips in EVs are this utopian, perfect experience. They do require a bit more planning because DC fast chargers aren’t as ubiquitous as petrol stations, and fast chargers can have reliability issues. However, road trips EVs simply aren’t this awful, painful experience that they are made out to be. I still have an ICE car, and if I need to do a road trip, I choose my EV every time.
Yeah I mean all of this is true, but it doesn’t matter. The planning is non-zero, as you say yourself. So what you’re saying to (non-enthusiast) families is:
“take your stops from 0 planning (i.e., when the kids need to pee in a gas station that’s available off every single highway exit in America)” and change that to “some amount of planning, even if it’s not that bad”.
“Oh and by the way, you get to pay more for this privilege than the equivalent gas vehicle, both in upfront cost and on the road trip itself, where DC fast charging is often more expensive than gas.” Ah right, and your EV is going to be less efficient on a road trip at highway speeds (especially 70+ mph) at the same time a gas vehicle becomes more efficient.
Running costs during normal around-town use are of course lower (often considerably), but the difference in upfront price sure buys a lot of gas at less than $3/gallon. The proliferation of hybrid 3 rows with decent around-town economy makes this value proposition even worse.
Now, as a second or third car that doesn’t need to be the primary hauler? I love the EV value prop. I’m thinking of getting one myself this year as the subsidized leases come back in.
You are assuming that someone is paying more upfront for an EV versus an ICE/hybrid vehicle, which often isn’t the case anymore. In my case, the total lease cost for my I5 was much cheaper than any comparable ICE/hybrid in the category that Hyundai offered. It was over $2000 cheaper total than leasing a stripper, base-model Elantra, which is a much smaller, slower sedan lacking many features that my I5 has. Even upfront purchase price is slowly starting to gain parity with ICE/hybrid options.
Especially when comparing fuel economy on 3-row SUVs, DC fast charging simply isn’t that much more expensive. Let’s make the math simple and assume than an EV is getting 2 miles/kWh, which is easily achievable at highway speeds with something like the Ioniq 9 (and honestly rather low; it would probably do better as long as the driver wasn’t going stupidly fast). Assuming a DC fast charging price of $0.60 per kWh, that’s $30 per 200 miles (and that’s a fairly expensive fast charging price). An equivalent car getting 25 MPG would spend $23.30 at $2.90 per gallon. That means that, in a worse-case scenario, the EV driver is only spending $6.80 more per 200 miles than an ICE driver.
Again, road trips simply do not make up a majority of driving for most drivers. Also, any EV driver will charge to 100% at home before leaving, meaning that the first 300-ish miles of the trip will be at a greatly reduced rate. There is virtually no scenario with someone who can charge at home will not see significant fuel savings running an EV versus an ICE/hybrid vehicle.
Also, please don’t forget about destination chargers! Our last road trip had a free L2 charger at the hotel. We spend $0 on charging because it was within range of our home.
Also, just an FYI, most EVs, including my Hyundai, just plan the charging stops for you. They will even automatically re-route if you are getting better or worse efficiency than expected.
It just doesn’t make sense to me that any logical person would say “okay, I could spend way more on fuel and get less power and interior room to make my road trips slightly more convenient, or I could save a ton of money on fuel, never have to stop at a petrol station during normal driving, but I have to plan a bit more for road trips. I’ll take the option that is more expensive and less convenient the vast majority of the time!”
I totally understand that most people are not logical. The oil industry has spend a huge amount of time, effort, and money convincing people that owning an EV is not a feasible, or at least very inconvenient. Petrol prices are also heavily subsidized in the US, giving them an unfair advantage now, but one that will not last forever.
That is why most non-EV owners focus so much on charging times, cost, and convenience. Big, powerful people and industries want you to focus on that to distract you from how much better EVs are to own and drive the vast majority of the time, and how much better the road-tripping experience is getting every single day as more DC fast charging stations open up and charging rates drop to become more competitive.
The big caveat with your upfront price savings from going EV is leasing. Outside of my friends that get employee lease deals from the mfg, I don’t know anyone that has leased a three-row spawn hauler. Just going off MSRP the base LR EV9 is $10k more than the MSRP of our Pilot. Yes, they are currently throwing cash on the hood for them currently, but so was Honda when we bought our Pilot this past summer. However, unlike an EV lease I can go sell my Pilot and get a majority of the money we paid for it back.
Yes, I don’t disagree with you at all. Price comparisons are a little difficult because they depend on manufacturer incentives, lease deals, and depreciation costs, the latter of which is very unfavorable for buying a new EV outright.
In most cases, given the way that most people drive and how often most people get a new car, it is usually fairly easy to work out a deal where owning an EV will be cheaper overall than owning an ICE or hybrid vehicle.
However there are going to be times when EVs aren’t the best choice from exclusively a price perspective. Most people I know are not doing the math and coming up with holistic 2-year ownership costs like I did with my I5, so I don’t think this matters much in real life. Most people put shockingly little thought into vehicle purchases, considering how expensive cars are!
I don’t like to get into price comparisons too much because there are just so many uncontrolled variables. What is much easier to discuss are issues related to range anxiety and fuel costs.
Over 1,000 words (tediously) lecturing someone on why their vehicle requirements are fictional to you. I’ll be brief and simply state that the rationale you’ve listed above would not work for me and my family. I’ve looked into it and it would suck until that EV network gets well and truly fleshed out and even then I’d be looking a big price tag to get the at-home charger installed in a house never designed for it.
The EV compromises are real for a lot of us. Until then, HEV and PHEV are great middle grounds.
I never claimed that EVs are always the best choice for every person.
If you cannot charge at home, and especially if you regularly do long road trips, EVs may not be a better option than a hybrid or PHEV vehicle.
What I very clearly stated is that road trips in EVs are not the atrocity that they are made out to be, and for most people, EVs are going to be cheaper and more convenient to run most of the time.
It is unfortunately that you assume your presumably esoteric personal situation is the norm. I am making generalizations about most people, most of the time.
“It is unfortunately that you assume your presumably esoteric personal situation is the norm”
Yeah, didn’t say that. Try again.
“I am making generalizations about most people, most of the time”
And what do you know about “most people, most of the time” in this big diverse nation of 400 million people? Your generalizing is my biggest problem with your lecture above.
Clearly, you have an anti-EV bias, so I don’t see a point to continuing to argue.
I hope that I was able to educate most people who read my comments with an open mind, and I would love to talk more about specifics with anyone who is genuinely curious or wants more information on EV ownership.
“so I don’t see a point to continuing to argue”
Thank God. Maybe go preach at the Babylonians, prophet. We Philistines are sick to death of it.
Lol the irony of Applehugger making those two statements. “Your generalizations are wrong! My generalizations are accurate!”
No kidding. Guy has zero self awareness. And it looks like there’s another, what, 2,000 words of sanctimoniousness that has been put in my tl;dr bin.
Oh, one other thing on EVSEs, which are often incorrectly called “chargers” (the charger is actually in the car!)
Electricians will often tell you that your house needs a service upgrade because they think that Level 2 chargers need 50 amps. Very unfortunately, the vast majority of electricians seems to know next to nothing about installing EVSEs and just assume that the maximum output the EVSE is capable of is what is must be fed.
The reality is that, as long as you don’t have some insane 200+ mile commute every single day, 50 amps is wayyy overkill. My house has 100 amp service. I limited my EVSE to 30 amps, which thanks to the 80% rule, means that it pulls 24 amps when charging. This equates to 5.5 kW per hour.
This one, 30-amp circuit is way more than enough to keep two EVs charged in my household, and we only plug in 2-4 times per week depending on how much we drive.
Also, installing an EVSE yourself is stupidly simple if you can do basic electrical work. Altogether, I installed a Grizzle-E classic EVSE in my garage for about $350 total, and it took me less than 2 hours to do. For people who can’t do something like this themselves, I am truly sorry. I have no idea why electrical work is so insanely expensive in this country.
I also want to mention (because lots of people don’t know this), that every single EV on the market can charge at regular 120 volts from a normal, household outlet. Both of our cars came with Level 1, 120v chargers in the trunk. This is very slow, but it can add 30 miles of range every 8 hours to our cars, so for people who don’t drive a lot, level 1 charging may be more than sufficient.
Sorry, one more comment just because it bugs me. EVs are traditionally framed as being less efficient at highway speeds, which is absolutely technically true.
What is frustrating is that ICE/hybrid vehicles are less efficient at around-town driving compared to highway driving, often by a similar amount.
Let’s use my car as an example. I can get about 4.0 miles/kWh in mixed driving, and around 3.0 miles/kWh in highway driving. That’s an efficiency hit of 25% on the highway.
A Hyundai Tucson hybrid gets 33 MPG on the highway and 25 in the city, which conveniently is about a 25% efficiency reduction in the city.
However, the combined MPGe for my I5 is 114 MPGe, whereas the combined MPG for a Tucson is 28 MPG. My I5 is literally four times more efficient overall compared to a hybrid competitor. It just flips the efficiency logic from being more efficient on the highway to being more efficient in the city, but regardless of what type of driving a person does most, it is vastly an incontrovertibly more efficient in every situation.
I realize that I may come across as some EV nut. The truth is that I still like and even own an ICE vehicle. I just don’t like all the misinformation and information that is manipulated and lacking context out there about EVs. I’m kind of a data nerd, so when I see data being used against what is often the objectively better option, it really grinds my gears!
I have 2 kids. We do NOT stop every 200 miles and stops do NOT take anywhere near 30 minutes, unless we are having an entire meal. Park at the gas station. Dad pumps, mom takes girls inside to pee and grab a couple snacks. The whole thing take’s less than 10 minutes. Not to mention, we don’t have to look for a charging station. Gas stations are literally everywhere.
I really want EVs to succeed but it’s obnoxious when reality is distorted this way and that to minimize the differences between ICE and EV road trips.
Out of genuine curiosity, how many miles do you typically go between stops? Assuming a 60 MPH average, 200 miles is over 3 hours of driving, and at that point even I usually need to pee!
I mentioned this earlier, but there are quite a few EVs on the market that can do way more than 200 miles in between charging stops, so depending on the vehicle, there may not be as much difference as you think.
Also, depending on how far you are going, 10 minutes at a charger can get a decent amount of range in 800v vehicles. On mine, 10 minutes would add close to 150 miles of driving range. I also mentioned this, but most EVs will just plan the charging stops for you.
I am not distorting reality or being obnoxious. I’m giving real world examples as an EV owner. I mean, even if I did have to stop more frequently than normal to charge my EV, that is a very small price to pay for the convenience and cost savings for most of my driving, and I would happily make that compromise. However, on all the EV road trips I’ve taken so far, charging has added precisely 0 minutes to the trip compared to taking an ICE car.
Your concerns are just a perfect example of the “but sometimes” mentality that is so prevalent among people who haven’t lived with EVs and are being fed a bunch of BS about how inconvenient they are. Again, I have no doubt that your concerns are valid and that you are worrying about stuff like charging time in good faith. I just also suspect that you’re putting way too much emphasis on problems that are simply unlikely to be a major issue.
If I were king, I’d love to just give everyone an EV to own for like a month so everyone could experience what they’re really like to live with. I mean I am the archetype of someone who researches everything to death, and I was still totally unprepared for how much better the EV ownership experience is compared to ICE vehicles until I actually had one in my driveway.
This. We have three kids. On road trips, our BEV is done charging way before all five of us are through the washroom, snack aisles, etc. Was a stop for gas much quicker in my bachelor days? Yes. Those days are long gone.
Heck, I took one of the kids on a 600-mile road trip before Christmas and Ioniq5 was done charging before the two of us were ready every single time.
Thank you so much for sharing your real-world experience! My Ioniq 5 has also consistently been done charging before I’m ready to leave. Getting a cup of coffee in a moderately busy Starbucks literally takes longer than charging my car.
Out experience is quickly becoming the norm with more and more 800v EVs entering the market.
I like a weird powerplant as much as the next guy, but Mazda seems determined to go out of business trying to make the Rotary a thing.
Make Mazdaspeed versions of a few of your existing vehicles. I’d personally love the opportunity to get a 3 hatchback with AWD and a manual even if it had the same power as the standard version. That is something I’d buy.
You know what I’m not going to buy new? A $65k rotary-powered coupe. And in case Mazda is confused about halo cars, I do not need the coupe I am not buying to be sitting in the showroom when I walk in to buy the 3 I requested.
Just to let you know, Mazda, I am much more interested in a manual transmission [any normal car] than I am the rotary coupe.
It’s the opposite. They’re determined to not go out of business, therefore they just keep trotting rotary engines out for journalists to write articles about, but they never put the effort in to releasing it
They did use it relatively recently as a range extender in the MX-30.
What’s the point of generating interest if you have nothing to sell?
Hey, I just read an article about a rotary sports coupe. Obviously, I decided to come in and test drive a CX5.
Dear Mazda,
We do not believe you! Please just produce one of your gorgeous concept coup designs with an inline 6. We do not want more stories about how the rotary is totally coming back for real this time I’m serious.
Yes they have a fantastic inline 6 that would be great in a sports car.
I would love the chance to try that I6 in something like this. I feel like that could be worth the money.
Every rotary seems to come with trade-offs, and I don’t think those trade-offs are acceptable in modern vehicles outside of full exotics. Two-stroke-like oil consumption, lack of low-end grunt without a turbo and apex seals living on borrowed time if there is forced induction. Emissions problems supposedly solved by moving exhaust ports, but that introduced its own issues.
I agree with all of this, I’d even be fine if it was some sort of collaboration/partnership with Toyota for a new Supra/Rx7, I guess it wouldn’t be an Rx7 though.
Rotaries are just too flawed to be in modern vehicles, and I say this as someone who has an FD Rx7 on my list not as an if but as a when. Issue is it is hard to justify with all the inherent issues and there’s no indication that those issues would be any better with a new rotary.
I love the look of the FD. It still looks great. I was cured of my desire to own one when I was at a local shop that had two stacks of plastic containers. I asked what was in them and the owner told me they were replacement rotary engines.
If you work on RX7s, you need to stock short blocks like oil filters. I’m sure you get quick at replacing them after a few times, but that’s still a little beyond what I want to do. I can and have removed / replaced engines, but I am content with my cherry picker getting dusty in my garage.
I am prepared for pain!!
Bring any EV to the market in Quebec is a solid plan. The exception was the Cybertruck which did not do well at all here. I’m more likely to see a Rivian.
Probably more likely to see a Ford Lightning than either.
Every 6 months we hear from some Mazda engineers about how much they love the rotary and how it may be coming back, and every 6 months it’s reported on with headlines like, “Mazda engineers confirm rotary’s not dead???!!!”, and every 6 months we post the same photos of the RX-Vision which is now over a decade old.
I do hate to say it, but the rotary is really officially dead. It’s doomed to only ever be a range extender at most.
There is a concept where one dies two deaths. Obviously the first is the physical death. The second is when you are mentioned for the last time by anyone living.
Obviously, Mazda engineers are making sure that second death for the rotary is put off as long as possible!
We still talk about Oldsmobile diesel engines.
Toyota selling both the Highlander and the Grand Highlander never made sense to me. Moving the Highlander to EV makes so much sense.
My only question is why not just have a GH and GH EV? If the GH sells better than the Highlander than just … offer it in both powertrains. What they’re doing now sounds like purposefully selling a less attractive model as an EV, which is going to be more expensive due to the powertrain. How is that encouraging buyers?
I disagree. EVs that platform-share with ICE versions are always severely compromised as EVs. Building the Highlander on its own, dedicated EV platform circumvents that issue. I suspect that is the logic behind this decision.
That makes some sense, thanks. Still seems like my calculus as a buyer would be “less attractive, more expensive EV or better ICE for less money.” I know essentially nothing about this, so I was genuinely asking.
My guess (and this is just a guess) is that another reason for the differentiation is so that buyers don’t directly compare the ICE and EV versions. A lot of platform shared EVs are way more expensive than the ICE version, which turns buyers off (even if leasing deals on EVs are often better than ICE/Hybrids).
When done properly (which is a huge caveat), price aside, EVs should be able to offer the same or more passenger and cargo space in a vehicle that is overall much smaller. Driving a properly engineered EV really shows off how they can be packaged much more efficiently than an ICE car. For example, my Ioniq 5 has way more interior and storage room than my friend’s 2025 Rav 4, even though his Rav 4 is much longer and taller.
I hope that Toyota puts some effort into the design and packaging. If they do, buyers should be faced with choosing a huge hybrid that still doesn’t get very good fuel economy over a smaller EV that offers more interior room. Any increase in price would be easier to swallow.
It’s relatively low risk, in keeping with their corporate strategy. They have plenty of gas and hybrid crossovers to keep selling, and if EVs take off again for some reason, they will have an entry ready.
No one who was interested in a gas Highlander is going to balk at a Grand Highlander instead.
Agreed. Plus this gives them a larger EV people hauler. And this will compete with the Model Y/X for buyers in my headspace.
I don’t think the Highlander will compete with the Y or X. First, the X is getting discontinued and it is a pretty compromised vehicle, with limited room in the third row and those stupid and unreliable gullwing doors.
Second, the Model Y’s optional third row is basically useless except for very small children. It is definitely designed as a very occasional use third row.
I suspect the Highlander EV will compete more directly with the Hyundai Ioniq 9 and it’s platform sibling, the Kia EV9.
Now, if it competes with the Model Y on price, that is an added bonus. The Model Y has gotten very expensive and its lease deals are atrocious, so I am not totally sure why anyone would buy one compared to something like the Ioniq 5, Mach-E, Equinox and Blazer EV, etc., unless they absolutely have to have FSD. If lease deals put the Highlander close to the Model Y, it will start to look like a really good deal compared to the Tesla.
I’m the target market for both (two kids and a dog – likes camping, hiking, and biking, wants a Toyota Hybrid) and the only reason I keep thinking I’ll get a Highlander over the GH is that the Highlander is old enough to get a decent deal on an older used one and spend $30k instead of $60k.
But the GH looks a lot better, has much better interior space, and can be had with the 34 mpg 2.5 hybrid, so if I decide to buy new it would be a no-brainer.
My mom drives a GH Hybrid and it’s been great for her.
We have a ’21 Highlander Hybrid LE AWD, three kids, and an off-the-grid family cabin.
The good: the MPG (even with racks and very aggressive all-terrain tires), the red color of paint, the year-round on- and off-road performance with said aftermarket tires.
The bad: everything else. It’s our first Toyota, and likely our last. The interior and exterior design are terrible. Its has panel gaps would make the company in Fremont blush. The HVAC and stereo controls are horrific and old in a bad way (which it glitches, it says iPod error). Also it has extremely thin paint, and a near useless third row.
For me the third row is mainly for our lab. We occasionally use the 3rd row in our Mazda5 for an extra friend or we put the kids in the back and have two more adults ride in the second row, but we don’t need it on a regular basis or for long journeys. That said, the kids and friends are only getting bigger, so a GH sized 3rd row would be welcome.
Honestly I’m not a fan of the styling or much of the interior layout, either. But the Toyota hybrid system is so much better than other options in this class that it overpowers those other considerations.
And great to hear that you’re happy with the off-road (“soft-roading”, I assume) performance. That’s one thing I am wary of with the electric AWD system in these. I do want it to get us a little further off the beaten path than we can with the Mazda5, and I know it’s not as capable as a mechanical AWD. What tires do you use?
Is this something low volume that can sell a few at dealerships and be something that people may come in to look at and then get upsold into a Grand Highlander?
From any other car company, I’d probably say no, but given that Toyota already has loads of hybrids and PHEVs selling like gangbusters, they can probably weather a lower margin new BEV better than most companies, and putting out a larger BEV spoils customers for choice without them looking at other brands.
Is it the right call? Hard to say, but I’m more optimistic Toyota can pull it off in today’s market than say Honda.
Toyota has a slow-and-steady approach that’s worked well thus far.
This follows the trend.
And, if it pans out, it’s an easy shift of the Grand Highlander to pull a swing out of the movies and be the only Highlander.
They are also launching it into a post-incentive US market, so they are planning for that.
It would have been worse for them to be all-in on EVs that will only sell with $7500-$12000 in government incentives taken off the price.