Toyota Highlander Width
By
Alfian Adi Saputra
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Thursday, May 31, 2018
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Toyota Highlander
Toyota Highlander Width
Like the 1986 film Highlander, the Toyota SUV that shares its name is a crowd-pleaser that fails to influence fervor amongst critics. After greater than 190,000 Highlanders rolled off supplier lots in 2014, Toyota's mid-size crossover SUV entered 2017 with a host of modifications aimed at pleasing the masses as well as pundits alike.
Especially, all Highlanders, from the base $31,590 LE to the high-grade $48,840 Highlander Crossbreed Limited Platinum, currently come common with a pre-collision warning system with pedestrian detection and also automated emergency braking, plus lane-departure warning, lane-keeping help, flexible cruise control, and automatic high-beams. Our all-wheel-drive $43,184 Highlander XLE examination auto likewise loaded blind-spot surveillance, a function unavailable on the lower-level Highlander LE and also LE And also.
Going along with the 2017 Highlander's many security systems is the current variant of Toyota's 3.5-liter V-6 engine. The six-cylinder is conventional on all but the base front-wheel-drive Highlander LE-- which continuouslies use a wimpy 185-hp inline-four-- and also integrates a host of modern-day technologies, consisting of a straight and port fuel-injection system as well as an updated valvetrain that enables the engine to work on the much more efficient Atkinson cycle. Ranked at a healthy 295 horsepower and 263 lb-ft of torque, the revised V-6 makes 25 more horses and an added 15 lb-ft compared to the previous device. Gas economic situation is up, also, with the front-wheel-drive 2017 Highlander V-6 earning an EPA-rated 23 mpg combined; all-wheel-drive models achieve 22 mpg. Both figures mark a 2-mpg improvement over in 2015's Highlander and placed the crossover within 1 mpg of the four-cylinder Mazda CX-9's mixed fuel-economy figures.
Toyota's 2GR-FKS 6 is a gem of an engine that builds power mostly all the means approximately its 6800-rpm redline. At the track, this Highlander cut 0.3 second off of its precursor's zero-to-60-mph as well as 30-to-50-mph times, hitting the marks in 7.0 and also 3.8 secs, respectively. Regrettably, the 2017 Highlander's 5.6-second 50-to-70-mph passing time was both sluggish for the course and virtually a 2nd behind that of its forbear. Condemn the brand-new eight-speed transmission's hesitancy to downshift. No matter, the revised Highlander's V-6 supplies a lot of grunt in many real-world driving situations. Many thanks in part to our examination auto's automatic stop-start system, we handled a sensible 21 mpg throughout our time with the crossover, 2 mpg much better than what we obtained from a Mazda CX-9.
The Component of Crossover
If the 2017 Highlander's V-6 powertrain is the equivalent of Highlander's enchanting Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos RamÃrez (played by Sean Connery), then the crossover's spruced up exterior style is akin to the movie's good-looking but featureless lead character, Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert). New front and also back fascias, upgraded headlamps, as well as an eye-catching collection of LED taillights offer the Highlander a more cohesive, SUV-like appearance. However we still would not place it fairly on the same level of beauty as the butch Dodge Durango or the shapely CX-9.
Unlike the exterior, the Highlander's inside has been left largely untouched. Toyota did include 4 even more USB ports, bringing the total to 5-- three ahead and also 2 in the rear. The cabin features a number of helpful storage nooks, consisting of a rack that covers the reduced dashboard and also a large center-console bin that can fit virtually a cubic foot of various items. Ergonomic faults consist of difficult-to-grip temperature handles for the climate-control system and a touchscreen that's as well far away from the chauffeur.
While base-level LE and LE And also Highlanders come with a basic second-row bench seat, the XLE, SE, Limited, and Limited Platinum grades have captain's chairs between. (The bench seat is a no-cost alternative on the XLE, Limited, and Minimal Platinum.) Area is plentiful in the second row, but we located that our seven-passenger examination automobile's container seats were placed as well reduced for optimal convenience. Still, the Highlander's moving and reclining second-row chairs were like a pair of La-Z-Boy reclining chairs compared to the slim as well as flimsy 60/40 split-folding third-row bench. Legroom in the wayback is simply 27.7 inches, a complete 6 inches fewer than exactly what the Volkswagen Atlas's rearmost row deals. If you consistently haul adequate guests to advantage regular use of the 3rd row, take into consideration the Atlas, a Honda Pilot, or a Ford Flex.
Shadow of an SUV
Despite the Highlander's carlike unibody building and construction and also 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 enables too much body coming in turns. On the plus side, the suspension absorbs road abnormalities with nary a shudder, as well as the electrically assisted guiding is fairly quick and also generally well weighted.
At 4560 extra pounds, our all-wheel-drive Highlander test cars and truck was no lightweight, and also the excess mass made itself recognized when using the brakes, as the Toyota required 181 feet of tarmac to stop from 70 mph-- 11 feet greater 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 choices. Of that tally, all-wheel drive includes $1460 as well as brings vestigial mud flaps, hill-descent control, and a display setting within the 4.2-inch gauge-cluster screen that shows torque circulation among the Highlander's 4 wheels. An $1810 rear-seat entertainment system was the most costly option, while $434 acquired floor mats and body-side moldings. Criterion items included navigation, a distance key with push-button start, and a sunroof, along with previously mentioned features such as a blind-spot monitoring system as well as leather-trimmed first- and also second-row seats (Toyota cushions the 3rd row in plastic).
While the Highlander's drab handling and also cramped third row continuously suppress our enthusiasm for the Indiana-built crossover, the upgraded 2017 Highlander's long list of conventional safety and security as well as convenience functions, a lot more powerful as well as fuel-efficient V-6 engine, as well as enhanced outside styling will certainly continue to draw in heaps of buyers searching for a comfy and also reasonably valued mid-size crossover SUV.