The four-cylinder is paired with a traditional six-speed automatic transmission while the V6 powered cars get an eight-speed unit. The hybrid models are equipped with a continuously variable transmission.
The 3.5 liter V6, shared with the Toyota Camry and Avalon sedans, is silky smooth. No one does naturally aspirated V6 engines quite as well as Toyota and it shows.
The Environmental Protection Agency projects fuel economy figures of 20 mpg city, 26 mpg highway, and 22 mpg combined for the SE. However, we struggled to break 20 mpg in mixed city and highway driving.
MPGs are better for the more expensive hybrid: a bit more than 30, combined