Highlander (and Lexus 400h)

I'm researching what car to buy next, and right now my first choice is the AWD Highlander. (Current car is '94 Camry wagon; previous was '85 Camry hatchback.) I do a lot of winter driving in rural New England, so all-wheel drive seems worthwhile. I went to the Boston car show in November where Toyota was prominently showcasing the Prius. It seemed a bit roomier than my '85 Camry hatchback - I know I could fit skis or a bicycle inside it. The only thing it lacked was AWD. When the Toyota people said there'd be a hybrid Highlander a year from now, I was very excited.

Now that the hybrid Highlander (and its upscale cousin, the Lexus 400h) has been formally announced at the recent Detroit (North American International) auto show, I have mixed feelings. I like the fact that they are offering an AWD version (a salesjerk at a local dealer thought it would be only front-drive), and I'm intrigued by how they would implement AWD. On the other hand, it appears, even though Toyota has not announced pricing, that the hybrid Highlander is going to be a fairly expensive car to buy, and not especially economical to operate.

The AWD intrigues me in part because I don't understand exactly how it would work. I've read that there will be two electric motors, one for the front wheels and one for the rear wheels. But it isn't clear to me what transmission, if any, is involved with the rear wheels. My understanding of Hybrid Synergy Drive is that there are two inputs to the transmission: the electric motor and (as needed) the internal combustion engine. If the additional rear electric motor is not a third input to the transmission, then is there a second transmission (I doubt it) or does that rear motor just turn at wheel speed? I have heard of prototype electric/hybrid AWD cars in which there were 4 electric motors, one for each wheel, so it wouldn't surprise me if the single rear motor for the Highlander/RX400i just turns at wheel speed, with some kind of differential to allow it to deal with slippage on one side. But I'd be very interested to hear some actual information on how this really works.

What disappoints me about the Highlander/RX400h is that they are not particularly economical. (This complaint extends even more to the carmakers other than Toyota and Honda Rather than trying to break Americans out of the habit of excessive consumption, the marketing plan uses hybrid technology to encourage consumers to maintain the habit of overconsumption, but just feel less guilty about it. If my current car were to die tomorrow and I needed to replace it, I'd probably get the 4 cylinder Highlander. Cutting off other drivers on the highway just isn't that big a part of my life (or towing heavy loads) to justify getting the current 6 cylinder (gas engine) model. A year from now, the hybrid Highlander will be available only with a 6 cylinder engine (and only with a 3rd row of seats, which in the current gas-powered Highlanders is an option that I would not elect to pay for). The message they will be pushing is: you can have it all: even more horsepower than you need, and slightly better fuel economy (I'm guessing about 40 mpg, compared to low 20s for the current gas-only Highlanders).

I think I understand what Toyota is doing, and I wouldn't be surprised if it succeeds. If they can sell a mainstream vehicle with hybrid technology, it will finally kill the myth that electric motors are only for golf carts. And I suspect that "you can have it all" is a winning message for many Americans. But, as for me, I'd be happier to get a smaller vehicle that had the safety advantages of all-wheel drive with the fuel economy of a Prius. If there were an all-wheel-drive Prius, I'd snatch it up, maybe not even waiting for my '94 Camry wagon to die.