Last weekend, I went to Yinchuan to participate in the first stop of this year's GAC Toyota "Double Engine Five Pole Challenge", the line of this station departed from Yinchuan, passed through Zhongwei, Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan, and finally arrived in Yumen Town, with a total distance of nearly 1000km. The rules of the game are also very simple, fill the fuel tank when you start, you can't refuel halfway, and the one with low fuel consumption on the final arrival wins.
On the day of departure, the minimum temperature in Yinchuan was -16 °C, and the maximum temperature was only -6 °C. For vehicles, in such an environment, fuel consumption is bound to increase. In this challenge, we drove the fourth generation Highlander and ran a cruising range of 1044km with a tank of fuel.
The fourth-generation Highlander series is equipped with a hybrid system consisting of a 2.5-liter Atkinson cycle engine and single/dual electric motors, and our test drive model is a four-wheel drive extreme version model, equipped with dual front/rear axle motors. The front axle motor has a maximum power of 134 kW and a maximum torque of 270 Nm. The rear axle motor has a maximum power of 40 kW and a maximum torque of 121 Nm. The combined power of the system can reach 183kW.
The 2.5-liter Atkinson cycle engine has a maximum power of 141 kW (192Ps) at 6000 rpm and a peak torque of 238 N·m/4200-4600 rpm.
Since the whole series adopts a dual-engine hybrid system, the gearbox adopts an E-CVT electronic stepless gearbox.
The fourth-generation Highlander series is equipped with a driving mode selection system, divided into sports, standard and energy-saving modes, but unfortunately in this challenge, we can only use energy-saving mode in order to save fuel.
Before the game officially starts, the first thing is to fill up the fuel tank. The Highlander fuel tank has a volume of 65L, and considering its self-weight of more than 2 tons and driving in a low temperature environment, we expect to drive in a fuel-efficient manner, and its cruising range is about 900km.
After filling the tank full, the staff sealed the tank lid, and the wrinkle-prone material also eliminated the idea of secretly opening the fuel in the middle.
The next is to clear the subtotal mileage in the driving computer, and it needs to be said that the calculation of the mileage of Highlander's driving computer seems to be based on the overall fuel consumption, basically there is no too strong reference.
Due to the ECO mode, we did not feel the presence of the rear motor the whole time. But even with only the front motor, Highlander's start is unusually brisk and unique in its class. In the case of more congestion in urban areas and frequent red lights, the advantages of the dual-engine model are more obvious.
In terms of mid-section acceleration, the performance of the fourth-generation Highlander is also very good, 60-80km/h is the most tacit stage of the dual-engine system, the Atkinson cycle engine gradually reaches the best working conditions, and with the assistance of the front motor, the output of the power system is very smooth.
Models built with the TNGA architecture have the characteristics of low center of gravity, which also makes the fourth-generation Highlander say goodbye to the boat-like control of the previous generation. And due to the addition of the motor and battery pack, the thickness of the chassis has been further enhanced, and it can be well filtered out in the face of large or small bumps and vibrations, and the tightness of the chassis is more exuding a sense of high-grade.
On the high speed, we cruised at a minimum speed limit of 90km/h, and the quietness in the car was good at this time. And when accelerating, due to the sharing of the motor, the engine does not enter a high speed in an instant. However, when decelerating, the sound of the kinetic energy recovery system will be more obvious. And now more and more models in the same class have begun to use double-layer sound insulation glass, Highlander does not have any advantages in this regard.
The steering system has made great progress compared to the previous generation of models, and the lighter steering feel makes the Highlander no longer synonymous with "fitness", and the speed of handling response has also been qualitatively improved compared with the previous generation model. Only the still vague sense of the road and the inexhaustible feedback dampness allow me to find the familiar "Toyota flavor" from this aspect.
As for the E-CVT transmission, which has never been mentioned, it is like the one-speed gearbox used in most pure electric models, and you can hardly feel its presence with your body.
At 90km/h cruising, the dual-engine system will be driven with pure electricity when the power battery allows, but the duration is shorter, and more often it is still the engine that drives and charges the power battery.
After half a day in the form, when we arrived in Zhongwei City to prepare for lunch, the fuel tank consumed only 1/12 of the amount of oil. At this time, the driving mileage of the table is 231.7km, and the mileage of the table is 393km. This is 338.3km away from the 570km endurance shown at the time of departure.
At the end of the first day of the race, when we arrived in Wuwei City, there was still half a tank of fuel left in the fuel tank, and at this time, the meter mileage was 529.6km, and the meter mileage was 243km. At this time, we have plenty of confidence in the remaining mileage tomorrow, but we neglected to drive nearly 40km more than other runners due to the need for shooting.
The next day, when our mileage was less than 50, we drove away from the highway according to the requirements of the organizer, at this time the meter mileage was 867.4km, and the meter mileage was 45km.
When we drove for another hour, the fuel tank meter showed that it had run out of gas, and the mileage was no longer displayed, and the mileage was 951.6km, and our hearts gradually lifted, because we didn't know if it was enough to survive to the end.
After driving for more than an hour, our mileage reached 1000km, at which point the sun had set, the temperature gradually began to drop, and our endurance anxiety gradually increased.
At 6:58 p.m. on the second day of the race, the last drop of gasoline in the tank entered the cylinder with the injector nozzle, was ignited by a spark plug, and released the last bit of energy, and we finally ended the race because of fuel ran out. In the end, our mileage was fixed at 1044.1km, and the fuel consumption was 6.2L/100km.
After the tripod was placed, for safety reasons we stood on the side of the road waiting for the rescue of the security car. The sunset gradually faded from the sky, and the dark blue canopy and the starry robes that were difficult to see in the city appeared. Looking back on this 1044km journey, I also have a deeper understanding of the enhanced hybrid system carried by the fourth-generation Highlander.
Finally, let's briefly review the fourth generation of Highlander, the biggest feeling of this generation of Highlander is that the overall appearance is much younger, and more body lines make it change from the slightly bloated of the previous generation to today's posture.
The fourth-generation Highlander is based on toyota's TNGA architecture and adopts Toyota's latest family design language, which is more than a little younger than the previous generation. The Z-shaped waistline design also makes the side of the car present a stronger three-dimensional feeling. The design of the tail is compact, and the taillight shape is very similar to the Toyota Fortuner, which is selling well overseas.
In terms of interior, this replacement model will focus on the sense of refinement and technology of the interior upgrade. Compared with the warm and homely atmosphere of the previous model, the fourth-generation Highlander has replaced the 12.3-inch central control large screen and full LCD instrument panel on the basis of continuing the storage space and practicality of the old model. However, compared with the picture effect and operation experience, there is still a certain distance.
The test drive did not change the tires, and it was still the Nürcher series of tires in Yokohama, with a tire specification of 235/55 R20.
Editor's Note: Although the driving style we used in this extreme challenge is not representative, it is still a bit surprising to me that the fourth-generation Highlander can still maintain excellent fuel economy in the alpine environment. Thanks to the blessing of Toyota's TNGA architecture, the fourth-generation Highlander's control has been greatly improved, coupled with a more youthful appearance, adding a solid guarantee to the solid mid-size SUV market crown on its head.