Enabling this SUV to sip fuel like when you take that first, tongue-scalding slurp of piping-hot coffee is a familiar drivetrain. Behind that broad, smiling grille you'll find a two-motor hybrid system built around a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. That gasoline-burner is matched to a pair of electric motor-generators that, among other things, function as a continuously variable transmission. Total system output clocks in at 243 horsepower, a more-than-adequate figure, if hardly a thrilling one.It's true, I wish the Highlander Hybrid had a little more giddy-up. That drivetrain is mostly smooth and quiet, though you do know when it's straining. Give this vehicle the spurs and unmistakable four-cylinder thrum becomes apparent. No, it's not obtrusive, especially in Limited and Platinum models, which feature laminated front-window glass for an even quieter cabin, but you can hear that combustion engine churning away at certain times.

The loss of two cylinders, however, leaves the crossover with less grunt from its engine and electric motors. With a total of 243 horses, the Highlander Hybrid is down 63 ponies to last year’s model. Predictably, the three-row Toyota hybrid accelerates with less authority. Although the powertrain offers enough gumption to putter the crossover around the low-speed roads of Gruene, Texas at a reasonable pace, the gas engine and electric motors struggle to move the Highlander Hybrid’s more than 4,300 pounds of mass when passing slower moving traffic on the highways that lead to San Antonio, Texas. And that’s with a near-empty cabin. Add in passengers or cargo – or take advantage of the crossover’s 3,500-pound towing capacity – and the Highlander Hybrid is sure to struggle even more.