Toyota Highlander Wiki

Toyota Highlander Wiki: Inconspicuous and also practical, the Highlander can haul up to eight in peaceful convenience. The base 185-hp 2.7-liter inline-four teams with a six-speed automatic as well as front-wheel drive; the optional 295-hp 3.5-liter V-6 obtains an eight-speed automatic. Four-wheel drive is optional for V-6 models as well as criterion for the crossbreed, which pairs the V-6 with two electrical motors; we saw 24 mpg in our examination. The Highlander supplies an appropriate driving experience, however it's even more concentrated on indoor niceties and also storage.


Toyota Highlander Wiki


Like the 1986 film Highlander, the Toyota SUV that shares its name is a crowd-pleaser that fails to motivate eagerness amongst doubters. After more than 190,000 Highlanders rolled off dealership lots in 2014, Toyota's mid-size crossover SUV entered 2017 with a host of adjustments focused on pleasing the masses as well as experts alike.

Especially, all Highlanders, from the base $31,590 LE to the high-grade $48,840 Highlander Crossbreed Limited Platinum, currently come standard with a pre-collision caution system with pedestrian detection and automated emergency braking, plus lane-departure caution, lane-keeping aid, adaptive cruise control, as well as automated high-beams. Our all-wheel-drive $43,184 Highlander XLE examination automobile additionally packed blind-spot monitoring, an attribute not available on the lower-level Highlander LE as well as LE And also.

Accompanying the 2017 Highlander's many safety systems is the current variation of Toyota's 3.5-liter V-6 engine. The six-cylinder is conventional on almost the base front-wheel-drive Highlander LE-- which remains to utilize a wimpy 185-hp inline-four-- as well as integrates a host of contemporary technologies, consisting of a straight as well as port fuel-injection system and also an upgraded valvetrain that enables the engine to work on the extra efficient Atkinson cycle. Ranked at a healthy and balanced 295 horse power and 263 lb-ft of torque, the revised V-6 makes 25 even more ponies as well as an extra 15 lb-ft compared to the previous unit. Gas economic climate is up, as well, with the front-wheel-drive 2017 Highlander V-6 gaining an EPA-rated 23 mpg incorporated; all-wheel-drive versions attain 22 mpg. Both figures note a 2-mpg enhancement over in 2015's Highlander as well as placed the crossover within 1 mpg of the four-cylinder Mazda CX-9's mixed fuel-economy numbers.

Toyota's 2GR-FKS six is a gem of an engine that builds power almost all the method approximately its 6800-rpm redline. At the track, this Highlander shaved 0.3 2nd off of its predecessor's zero-to-60-mph and also 30-to-50-mph times, hitting the marks in 7.0 as well as 3.8 secs, specifically. Sadly, the 2017 Highlander's 5.6-second 50-to-70-mph death time was both slow-moving for the class as well as nearly a second behind that of its forbear. Criticize the new eight-speed automatic transmission's hesitancy to downshift. No matter, the revised Highlander's V-6 provides lots of grunt in a lot of real-world driving circumstances. Many thanks partly to our test vehicle's automated stop-start system, we managed an affordable 21 mpg throughout our time with the crossover, 2 mpg much better than just what we obtained from a Mazda CX-9.

The Element of Crossover

If the 2017 Highlander's V-6 powertrain is the equivalent of Highlander's captivating Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez (played by Sean Connery), after that the crossover's overhauled outside design belongs to the film's good-looking however featureless protagonist, Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert). New front as well as rear fascias, upgraded headlamps, and also an attractive collection of LED taillights provide the Highlander a more cohesive, SUV-like appearance. But we still wouldn't put it quite on the exact same degree of beauty as the butch Dodge Durango or the shapely CX-9.

Unlike the exterior, the Highlander's interior has actually been left mostly unblemished. Toyota did include four more USB ports, bringing the total amount to five-- three ahead and also 2 in the rear. The cockpit features a variety of handy storage space nooks, including a shelf that extends the reduced dashboard as well as an enormous center-console container that can suit virtually a cubic foot of assorted products. Ergonomic faults include difficult-to-grip temperature level handles for the climate-control system and a touchscreen that's too far away from the motorist.

While base-level LE and also LE And also Highlanders feature a standard second-row bench seat, the XLE, SE, Limited, and Restricted Platinum qualities have captain's chairs between. (The bench seat is a no-cost choice on the XLE, Limited, and Limited Platinum.) Space is plentiful in the second row, yet we found that our seven-passenger test vehicle's bucket seats were installed too low for optimum convenience. Still, the Highlander's moving as well as reclining second-row chairs were like a pair of La-Z-Boy reclining chairs compared to the thin and flimsy 60/40 split-folding third-row bench. Legroom in the wayback is simply 27.7 inches, a complete six inches fewer than what the Volkswagen Atlas's rearmost row offers. If you routinely haul enough passengers to value frequent use of the third row, think about the Atlas, a Honda Pilot, or a Ford Flex.

Shadow of an SUV

In spite of the Highlander's carlike unibody construction as well as low step-in height, this mid-size crossover's managing advises us of an old-fashioned body-on-frame SUV, as its softly sprung suspension permits extreme body coming 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 usually well heavy.

At 4560 extra pounds, our all-wheel-drive Highlander test automobile was no light-weight, and also the excess mass made itself known when applying the brakes, as the Toyota needed 181 feet of tarmac to stop from 70 mph-- 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 sported $3704 in choices. Of that tally, all-wheel drive adds $1460 as well as brings vestigial mud flaps, hill-descent control, as well as a display setup within the 4.2-inch gauge-cluster display that reveals torque circulation amongst the Highlander's 4 wheels. An $1810 rear-seat amusement system was one of the most costly alternative, while $434 purchased floor mats as well as body-side moldings. Requirement products consisted of navigating, a closeness trick with push-button start, and also a sunroof, along with aforementioned features such as a blind-spot tracking system and leather-trimmed very first- as well as second-row seats (Toyota cushions the 3rd row in vinyl).

While the Highlander's drab handling and cramped third row continuously curb our excitement for the Indiana-built crossover, the updated 2017 Highlander's lengthy list of standard security and also convenience features, a lot more effective as well as fuel-efficient V-6 engine, and also boosted outside designing will remain to draw in heaps of buyers trying to find a comfy and also reasonably valued mid-size crossover SUV.