Surely something must be wrong here. A hybrid, make that a Toyota hybrid, finishing so poorly in a list of efficient SUVs? Somebody’s got some ‘splainin’ to do. As one of our editors put it: “I have no use for this kind of power, and if I want to save gas, spending $40,000 isn’t gonna help.” Another scribe noted that, in addition to the Highlander Hybrid’s questionable fuel economy, it’s “an RX 400h without the Lexus. Forget it.”

Personal opinions aside, the fact remains that the EPA continues to suggest that a front-wheel-drive 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid will return 33 mpg in the city, 28 mpg on the highway, and 30 mpg in mixed driving, while a four-wheel-drive model comes in a bit less with 31 mpg city, 27 mpg highway, and 29 mpg combined. That’s with Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive system, a continuously variable automatic transmission, a 3.3-liter V6 engine, and a net horsepower rating of 268. Base prices range from about $33,000 to $39,000.

To its credit, some owners have reportedly achieved results similar to those estimated by the EPA, though there are skeptics who wonder how light one’s foot needs to be and how little cargo can be hauled to get such mileage. Consider us among them, since our week in a four-wheel-drive tester, driven at regular speeds in normal conditions for hundreds of miles over the span of a week, yielded only 19.8 mpg.