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by bryanlarsen 2367 days ago
Sure, just 2 weekends ago I tried to boost a friend's Highlander. A few more miles but otherwise met all conditions. They spent several hours on the phone with the help desk, but nobody could do anything on a Sunday. They ended up staying an extra night in the hotel without any sort of assurance it would be a quick fix the next day.

And yet Toyota is considered one of the good brands.
1 comments
teachrdan 2367 days ago
That's an interesting story, and I did some quick research to compare the two models. It looks like the Toyota Highlander sold almost twice as many cars in the US in 2019 (~219,000 vs ~114,000) and costs about $20,000 less for the most-expensive model. This is, in my opinion, not an apples to apples comparison.

I know most of us at HN--me included!--want Tesla to succeed, but I am again surprised that people are so quick to write off a brand new, low-mileage Model 3's catastrophic failure with no apparent cause. I have to wonder if it's because, when we saw the word "catastrophic" in the headline, we assumed it would be due to a battery catching fire, or autopilot steering the vehicle into a Jersey barrier.

Toyota Highlander sales figures: https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/toyota-highlander-sales-figure...

Tesla Model 3 sales figures: https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/tesla-model-3-sales-figures-us...

Price of top-end Highlander: https://www.google.com/search?q=how+much+is+a+toyota+highlan...

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simonsarris 2367 days ago
> and costs about $20,000 less for the most-expensive model

That's not the price of the top-end Highlander, which is the AWD Platinum, which is $48,800 (without any options).

https://www.toyota.com/configurator/build/step/accessory/yea...

The highest priced Model 3 is the Performance, at $56,990 (before $1,875 tax credit)

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Marsymars 2367 days ago
Every time I see this kind of comparison I'm reminded of how little effort Tesla seems to make relative to other manufacturers to make their cars price-competitive in non-US markets.

Equivalent pricing for top-spec (non-hybrid) Highlander and Model 3 in Canada is $52,100 and $75,990, respectively.

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