Toyota Highlander Body Styles
By
Herman Syah
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Saturday, March 24, 2018
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Toyota Highlander
Toyota Highlander Body Styles
Like the 1986 film Highlander, the Toyota SUV that shares its name is a crowd-pleaser that fails to motivate fervor amongst movie critics. After more than 190,000 Highlanders rolled off dealership lots last year, Toyota's mid-size crossover SUV went into 2017 with a host of modifications targeted at satisfying the masses and also pundits alike.
Notably, all Highlanders, from the base $31,590 LE to the top-of-the-line $48,840 Highlander Hybrid Limited Platinum, currently come conventional with a pre-collision warning system with pedestrian detection as well as automated emergency braking, plus lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise ship control, and also automatic high-beams. Our all-wheel-drive $43,184 Highlander XLE test car additionally loaded blind-spot surveillance, a feature unavailable on the lower-level Highlander LE and also LE Plus.
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 continuouslies use a frail 185-hp inline-four-- and also includes a host of modern technologies, including a direct as well as port fuel-injection system and also an updated valvetrain that allows the engine to work on the a lot more effective Atkinson cycle. Ranked at a healthy and balanced 295 horse power and 263 lb-ft of torque, the changed V-6 makes 25 more horses as well as an additional 15 lb-ft compared with the previous unit. Gas economic climate is up, as well, with the front-wheel-drive 2017 Highlander V-6 earning an EPA-rated 23 mpg incorporated; all-wheel-drive designs accomplish 22 mpg. Both figures mark a 2-mpg enhancement over in 2014's Highlander and placed the crossover within 1 mpg of the four-cylinder Mazda CX-9's consolidated fuel-economy figures.
Toyota's 2GR-FKS six is a treasure of an engine that constructs power almost all the means as much as its 6800-rpm redline. At the track, this Highlander shaved 0.3 2nd off of its precursor'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. Unfortunately, the 2017 Highlander's 5.6-second 50-to-70-mph passing time was both sluggish for the class as well as almost a 2nd behind that of its forbear. Criticize the brand-new eight-speed automatic transmission's hesitancy to downshift. No matter, the revised Highlander's V-6 offers a lot of grunt in the majority of real-world driving circumstances. Many thanks in part to our examination vehicle's automated stop-start system, we handled a reasonable 21 mpg throughout our time with the crossover, 2 mpg much better compared to just what we obtained from a Mazda CX-9.
The Aspect of Crossover
If the 2017 Highlander's V-6 powertrain is the matching of Highlander's charming Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos RamÃrez (played by Sean Connery), then the crossover's spruced up outside style is akin to the film's handsome however forgettable lead character, Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert). New front as well as rear fascias, upgraded headlamps, and an eye-catching collection of LED taillights give the Highlander a much more cohesive, SUV-like look. However we still would not put it quite on the very same level of appearance as the butch Dodge Durango or the hot CX-9.
Unlike the exterior, the Highlander's interior has been left greatly untouched. Toyota did include four more USB ports, bringing the total amount to five-- three ahead as well as two in the rear. The cockpit includes a number of convenient storage space spaces, consisting of a rack that covers the reduced dashboard and a massive center-console bin that could accommodate 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 far from the vehicle driver.
While base-level LE as well as LE Plus Highlanders have a typical second-row bench seat, the XLE, SE, Limited, and Limited Platinum grades include captain's chairs between. (The bench seat is a no-cost choice on the XLE, Limited, and Limited Platinum.) Room is plentiful in the second row, but we found that our seven-passenger examination cars and truck's pail seats were placed too reduced for ideal comfort. Still, the Highlander's sliding and also reclining second-row chairs resembled a pair of La-Z-Boy recliners compared with the slim and also lightweight 60/40 split-folding third-row bench. Legroom in the wayback is just 27.7 inches, a full six inches less compared to exactly what the Volkswagen Atlas's rearmost row deals. If you routinely transport sufficient passengers to advantage frequent use the 3rd row, think about the Atlas, a Honda Pilot, or a Ford Flex.
Darkness of an SUV
Even with the Highlander's carlike unibody building and reduced step-in height, this mid-size crossover's taking care of advises us of an antique body-on-frame SUV, as its softly sprung suspension permits excessive body coming in turns. On the plus side, the suspension absorbs roadway irregularities with nary a shudder, and the electrically assisted guiding is reasonably quick as well as normally well weighted.
At 4560 extra pounds, our all-wheel-drive Highlander examination car was no light-weight, and also the excess mass made itself recognized when using 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 cost of $43,184, our Toasted Walnut Pearl Highlander XLE showed off $3704 in choices. Of that tally, four-wheel drive adds $1460 and brings vestigial mud flaps, hill-descent control, and also a display screen setting within the 4.2-inch gauge-cluster display that shows torque circulation amongst the Highlander's four wheels. An $1810 rear-seat entertainment system was one of the most pricey option, while $434 bought flooring mats and also body-side moldings. Requirement products consisted of navigating, a proximity key with push-button begin, and a sunroof, along with previously mentioned features such as a blind-spot surveillance system as well as leather-trimmed initial- and also second-row seats (Toyota cushions the 3rd row in plastic).
While the Highlander's lifeless handling and cramped third row remain to curb our interest for the Indiana-built crossover, the upgraded 2017 Highlander's lengthy listing of basic security as well as convenience attributes, much more effective and also fuel-efficient V-6 engine, and also improved outside designing will certainly continuously draw in hoards of consumers searching for a comfortable and fairly valued mid-size crossover SUV.