Toyota Highlander Models

Toyota Highlander Models: Inconspicuous as well as practical, the Highlander can haul up to 8 in peaceful convenience. The base 185-hp 2.7-liter inline-four groups with a six-speed automated as well as front-wheel drive; the optional 295-hp 3.5-liter V-6 gets an eight-speed automated. Four-wheel drive is optional for V-6 designs as well as standard for the crossbreed, which sets the V-6 with 2 electric motors; we saw 24 mpg in our test. The Highlander provides an adequate driving experience, but it's even more concentrated on indoor niceties and storage.


Toyota Highlander Models


Like the 1986 movie Highlander, the Toyota SUV that shares its name is a crowd-pleaser that cannot inspire fervor among critics. After more than 190,000 Highlanders rolled off dealership whole lots in 2015, Toyota's mid-size crossover SUV went into 2017 with a host of adjustments targeted at pleasing the masses and pundits alike.

Significantly, all Highlanders, from the base $31,590 LE to the state-of-the-art $48,840 Highlander Hybrid Limited Platinum, currently come standard with a pre-collision caution system with pedestrian detection and automated emergency braking, plus lane-departure warning, lane-keeping help, flexible cruise ship control, as well as automatic high-beams. Our all-wheel-drive $43,184 Highlander XLE test cars and truck additionally packed blind-spot monitoring, a feature unavailable on the lower-level Highlander LE and LE Plus.

Going along with the 2017 Highlander's countless security systems is the most recent variant of Toyota's 3.5-liter V-6 engine. The six-cylinder is standard on almost the base front-wheel-drive Highlander LE-- which continues to make use of a wimpy 185-hp inline-four-- and also integrates a host of modern innovations, including a direct as well as port fuel-injection system and an upgraded valvetrain that permits the engine to operate on the more effective Atkinson cycle. Rated at a healthy and balanced 295 horse power and also 263 lb-ft of torque, the revised V-6 makes 25 more ponies and also an additional 15 lb-ft compared to the previous device. Fuel economic situation is up, as well, with the front-wheel-drive 2017 Highlander V-6 earning an EPA-rated 23 mpg combined; all-wheel-drive versions attain 22 mpg. Both numbers note a 2-mpg renovation over in 2014's Highlander and also put the crossover within 1 mpg of the four-cylinder Mazda CX-9's combined fuel-economy figures.

Toyota's 2GR-FKS six is a treasure of an engine that builds power almost all the way as much as its 6800-rpm redline. At the track, this Highlander shaved 0.3 second off of its predecessor's zero-to-60-mph as well as 30-to-50-mph times, hitting the marks in 7.0 as well as 3.8 secs, respectively. Unfortunately, the 2017 Highlander's 5.6-second 50-to-70-mph death time was both slow-moving for the course as well as almost a 2nd behind that of its forbear. Criticize the new eight-speed transmission's hesitancy to downshift. No matter, the changed Highlander's V-6 supplies lots of grunt in a lot of real-world driving scenarios. Many thanks in part to our examination auto's automated stop-start system, we took care of an affordable 21 mpg during our time with the crossover, 2 mpg much better compared to exactly what we got from a Mazda CX-9.

The Aspect of Crossover

If the 2017 Highlander's V-6 powertrain is the matching of Highlander's enchanting Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez (played by Sean Connery), then the crossover's overhauled exterior design belongs to the movie's good-looking yet forgettable lead character, Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert). New front and back fascias, updated headlamps, and also an eye-catching collection of LED taillights provide the Highlander an extra natural, SUV-like look. However we still wouldn't put it fairly on the very same degree of appearance as the butch Dodge Durango or the shapely CX-9.

Unlike the outside, the Highlander's interior has actually been left mostly untouched. Toyota did include 4 even more USB ports, bringing the overall to five-- three ahead as well as 2 in the rear. The cockpit showcases a number of useful storage nooks, including a shelf that extends the lower control panel and also a massive center-console container that can suit almost a cubic foot of assorted items. Ergonomic mistakes include difficult-to-grip temperature handles for the climate-control system as well as a touchscreen that's also away from the chauffeur.

While base-level LE and LE And also Highlanders have a basic second-row bench seat, the XLE, SE, Limited, as well as Restricted Platinum grades have captain's chairs in the center. (The bench seat is a no-cost choice on the XLE, Limited, and also Minimal Platinum.) Area abounds in the second row, however we discovered that our seven-passenger examination vehicle's bucket seats were mounted as well low for optimum convenience. Still, the Highlander's sliding and reclining second-row chairs resembled a set of La-Z-Boy recliners compared with the thin and also lightweight 60/40 split-folding third-row bench. Legroom in the wayback is just 27.7 inches, a complete six inches less than exactly what the Volkswagen Atlas's rearmost row deals. If you regularly carry adequate travelers to quality regular use of the 3rd row, consider the Atlas, a Honda Pilot, or a Ford Flex.

Shadow of an SUV

Despite the Highlander's carlike unibody building and construction as well as low step-in elevation, this mid-size crossover's taking care of advises us of an old-fashioned body-on-frame SUV, as its softly sprung suspension permits too much body roll in turns. On the plus side, the suspension soaks up roadway irregularities with nary a shudder, as well as the electrically helped steering is fairly quick and also typically well heavy.

At 4560 extra pounds, our all-wheel-drive Highlander test cars and truck was no light-weight, as well as the excess mass made itself known when using the brakes, as the Toyota needed 181 feet of tarmac to stop from 70 miles per hour-- 11 feet more than a 161-pound-lighter all-wheel-drive GMC Acadia Denali.

With an as-tested cost of $43,184, our Toasted Walnut Pearl Highlander XLE showed off $3704 in alternatives. Of that tally, four-wheel drive includes $1460 and also brings vestigial mud flaps, hill-descent control, and also a screen setting within the 4.2-inch gauge-cluster display that reveals torque circulation among the Highlander's 4 wheels. An $1810 rear-seat enjoyment system was one of the most pricey choice, while $434 purchased flooring mats as well as body-side moldings. Criterion items consisted of navigating, a closeness secret with push-button start, and also a sunroof, along with abovementioned attributes such as a blind-spot monitoring system as well as leather-trimmed first- and also second-row seats (Toyota cushions the 3rd row in vinyl).

While the Highlander's drab handling as well as cramped 3rd row remain to suppress our enthusiasm for the Indiana-built crossover, the updated 2017 Highlander's long checklist of basic safety as well as benefit functions, extra powerful as well as fuel-efficient V-6 engine, and enhanced outside styling will continuously bring in hoards of buyers looking for a comfortable and also reasonably valued mid-size crossover SUV.