The Royal Highway Hybrid

When you drive California's legendary 'el Camino Real' -- the Royal Highway -- you'll pass hundreds of road markers crowned with symbolic church bells reminding you of the original purpose of the track -- now a four-lane highway -- that winds through the coastal range linking a succession of Spanish missions: Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, San Jose, among the many.

It is hard to imagine a more beautiful setting in which to plant a new faith and test a new hybrid; in this case a 2008 4WD Toyota Highlander Hybrid. This was not my first time in the Highlander, but it was my first time driving the 101 from Santa Monica to San Jose, with brief diversions to visit with a friend for breakfast in Malibu, another in the hills east of Paso Robles, and two business associates just outside of the town of Santa Ynez. In total, I would put more than 400 miles on the Waveline Pearl-colored sport utility, faithfully guided by the Garmin GPS my daughter had given me for Christmas in 2007, after reading about my earlier experience in driving the first Highlander.

Between the smooth, quiet, comfortable and commanding ride offered by the Highlander and the reassuring directions provided by the GPS, I couldn't have asked for a better environment in which to explore the ranch and wine country of California's central coast, This is the kind of drive I'd have preferred to share with others, my wife, my daughter, my parents, but this time out, I would be alone with my thoughts and reflections, mulling over what I would write about and wondering how in the world all those hundreds, if not thousands, of square miles of grapes would ever be picked. It seems that the trellaces of vines stretch for miles, often as far as the eye can see.

The Highlander wasn't my first choice. I had originally requested to test drive the Camry Hybrid, in which I have spent maybe 20 or 30 minutes back in 2006, as Mother Earth News' John Rockhold and I shared driving the car during Toyota Hybrid Seminar. There wasn't much of an opportunity to really get a sense of the vehicle apart from admiring its muscular lines. We were testing so many hybrids that all was a blur, with the exception of the newly released Lexus 450h. That ride was memorable.

The folks at Toyota wanted to know my itinerary, which originally was to fly into San Jose for the Plug-In 2008 Conference and then drive to LA with my wife for a bit of R&R with stops in Monterey, Carmel, etc. Toyota arranged to have a Camry Hybrid waiting in San Jose, scheduling another journalist to have the car until I needed it after the conference.

Unfortunately, my plans changed. Instead, I would be flying into LA for a couple of business meetings -- and to see the Tesla Showroom in Santa Monica for the first time. I wanted to then drive North, stopping in Malibu and then Santa Ynez. I would spend the night in San Luis Obispo and head out to visit Todd Fisher. From there, I'd drive the remaining 200 or so miles to San Jose, arriving in time for a press dinner being hosted by General Motors, at which they would announce their alliance with EPRI and some 30 other utilities, as well as with Coulomb Technologies.

With demand for their high-mileage hybrids straining Toyota's ability to deliver vehicles like the Camry, and with the one available Camry now in San Jose, where I originally said I wanted it, the company just didn't have any other Camry Hybrid's or even Priuses available within my new time window. The best they could offer me was the Highlander Hybrid. I gladly accepted. After all, the alternative was to rent a car, which wouldn't have been as productive a use of my time, not to mention the expense.

So, here I was enjoying the golden -- though drought-barched -- hills and succession of mission bell road markers in quiet solitude, my load of video and audio recording gear, tripod and suitcase of clothes securely stowed behind the rear seat, under the concealing Tonneau cover. The photocopy of the dealer's sticker that came with the keys and liability waiver, indicates this car originally had a third row seat. Gratefully, it had been removed prior to my driving the car. I needed that space. I was going to be audio and video recording the conference, which was to feature Andy Grove, the latest high-profile champion of plug-in, electric vehicles.

As you might imagine, I was keenly interested to see what kind of fuel economy the vehicle would deliver, and my aim was to drive conservatively, keeping it between 65-70 much of the time. The dealer's sticker indicates that city mileage is 27 mpg, while highway is 25. That's pretty accurate from my experience. The best I managed -- 26.7 -- was on the leg between Malibu and Santa Barbara.

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