Toyota Highlander Le Plus
By
Pusahma satu
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Friday, June 1, 2018
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Toyota Highlander
Toyota Highlander Le Plus
Like the 1986 movie Highlander, the Toyota SUV that shares its name is a crowd-pleaser that cannot influence fervor amongst critics. After more than 190,000 Highlanders rolled off dealer whole lots in 2015, Toyota's mid-size crossover SUV went into 2017 with a host of changes aimed at satisfying the masses and also experts alike.
Notably, all Highlanders, from the base $31,590 LE to the top-of-the-line $48,840 Highlander Hybrid Limited Platinum, now come basic with a pre-collision warning system with pedestrian discovery as well as automated emergency braking, plus lane-departure warning, lane-keeping help, flexible cruise control, and automated high-beams. Our all-wheel-drive $43,184 Highlander XLE test car also loaded blind-spot surveillance, a function unavailable on the lower-level Highlander LE and also LE And also.
Coming with the 2017 Highlander's many safety systems is the latest version of Toyota's 3.5-liter V-6 engine. The six-cylinder is typical on just about the base front-wheel-drive Highlander LE-- which continues to use a frail 185-hp inline-four-- as well as incorporates a host of contemporary innovations, consisting of a straight and port fuel-injection system as well as an upgraded valvetrain that enables the engine to work on the a lot more reliable Atkinson cycle. Ranked at a healthy 295 horse power and 263 lb-ft of torque, the modified V-6 makes 25 more horses and also an additional 15 lb-ft compared to the previous system. Fuel economic climate is up, too, with the front-wheel-drive 2017 Highlander V-6 making an EPA-rated 23 mpg integrated; all-wheel-drive designs attain 22 mpg. Both numbers mark a 2-mpg enhancement over last year's Highlander and put the crossover within 1 mpg of the four-cylinder Mazda CX-9's mixed fuel-economy numbers.
Toyota's 2GR-FKS 6 is a treasure of an engine that develops power mostly all the means up to 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 and also 3.8 secs, respectively. Regrettably, the 2017 Highlander's 5.6-second 50-to-70-mph passing away time was both slow for the class and also nearly a 2nd behind that of its forbear. Blame the brand-new eight-speed automatic transmission's hesitancy to downshift. Regardless, the changed Highlander's V-6 provides plenty of grunt in most real-world driving circumstances. Thanks partly to our test auto's automatic stop-start system, we handled a sensible 21 mpg during our time with the crossover, 2 mpg better than exactly what we obtained from a Mazda CX-9.
The Component of Crossover
If the 2017 Highlander's V-6 powertrain is the matching of Highlander's captivating Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos RamÃrez (played by Sean Connery), after that the crossover's spruced up exterior design is akin to the film's good-looking but forgettable protagonist, Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert). New front and rear fascias, updated headlamps, as well as an eye-catching set of LED taillights give the Highlander an extra natural, SUV-like appearance. However we still would not place it quite on the same degree of attractiveness as the butch Dodge Durango or the shapely CX-9.
Unlike the exterior, the Highlander's interior has been left mainly untouched. Toyota did include four more USB ports, bringing the total to five-- three in front and also two in the rear. The cabin features a variety of helpful storage space nooks, including a rack that covers the reduced control panel and also a massive center-console container that can fit virtually a cubic foot of assorted products. Ergonomic mistakes include difficult-to-grip temperature level knobs for the climate-control system as well as a touchscreen that's too far from the driver.
While base-level LE and also LE And also Highlanders come with a conventional second-row bench seat, the XLE, SE, Limited, and Restricted Platinum grades include captain's chairs between. (The bench seat is a no-cost option on the XLE, Limited, and also Minimal Platinum.) Space is plentiful in the 2nd row, but we discovered that our seven-passenger test vehicle's pail seats were installed also reduced for optimum convenience. Still, the Highlander's moving as well as reclining second-row chairs were like a pair of La-Z-Boy recliners compared with the thin and lightweight 60/40 split-folding third-row bench. Legroom in the wayback is just 27.7 inches, a complete six inches fewer than what the Volkswagen Atlas's rearmost row offers. If you consistently haul adequate passengers to value constant use 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 elevation, this mid-size crossover's managing advises us of an old-fashioned body-on-frame SUV, as its softly sprung suspension allows excessive body coming in turns. On the plus side, the suspension soaks up road abnormalities with nary a shudder, as well as the electrically aided guiding is reasonably quick and normally well weighted.
At 4560 extra pounds, our all-wheel-drive Highlander test auto was no light-weight, and also the excess mass made itself known when applying the brakes, as the Toyota required 181 feet of tarmac to quit from 70 mph-- 11 feet more than a 161-pound-lighter all-wheel-drive GMC Acadia Denali.
With an as-tested rate of $43,184, our Toasted Walnut Pearl Highlander XLE showed off $3704 in options. Of that tally, all-wheel drive adds $1460 as well as brings vestigial mud flaps, hill-descent control, and a display screen setting within the 4.2-inch gauge-cluster screen that reveals torque circulation amongst the Highlander's 4 wheels. An $1810 rear-seat entertainment system was the most pricey choice, while $434 gotten flooring mats and also body-side moldings. Standard items included navigation, a distance key with push-button begin, and also a sunroof, along with abovementioned attributes such as a blind-spot surveillance system as well as leather-trimmed first- and second-row seats (Toyota drapes the third row in vinyl).
While the Highlander's drab handling and also confined third row remain to suppress our interest for the Indiana-built crossover, the updated 2017 Highlander's long list of common safety and security and also ease functions, a lot more effective as well as fuel-efficient V-6 engine, as well as boosted outside designing will certainly remain to bring in stockpiles of buyers looking for a comfortable and moderately valued mid-size crossover SUV.