Toyota Highlander Model Years

Toyota Highlander Model Years: Low-profile and reasonable, the Highlander can haul up to 8 in peaceful convenience. The base 185-hp 2.7-liter inline-four groups with a six-speed automatic and also front-wheel drive; the optional 295-hp 3.5-liter V-6 gets an eight-speed automatic. Four-wheel drive is optional for V-6 versions and requirement for the hybrid, which pairs the V-6 with 2 electric motors; we saw 24 mpg in our examination. The Highlander supplies an ample driving experience, however it's even more focused on interior details as well as storage.


Toyota Highlander Model Years


Like the 1986 film Highlander, the Toyota SUV that shares its name is a crowd-pleaser that fails to influence fervor among movie critics. After more than 190,000 Highlanders rolled off supplier lots in 2014, Toyota's mid-size crossover SUV went into 2017 with a host of adjustments focused on pleasing the masses as well as pundits alike.

Notably, all Highlanders, from the base $31,590 LE to the state-of-the-art $48,840 Highlander Hybrid Limited Platinum, currently come common with a pre-collision caution system with pedestrian detection and automated emergency braking, plus lane-departure caution, lane-keeping help, adaptive cruise control, as well as automatic high-beams. Our all-wheel-drive $43,184 Highlander XLE examination car additionally packed blind-spot surveillance, a feature unavailable on the lower-level Highlander LE and also LE And also.

Coming with the 2017 Highlander's countless security systems is the current variation of Toyota's 3.5-liter V-6 engine. The six-cylinder is basic on all but the base front-wheel-drive Highlander LE-- which continues to make use of a frail 185-hp inline-four-- and also incorporates a host of contemporary technologies, consisting of a straight and also port fuel-injection system as well as an updated valvetrain that allows the engine to work on the much more reliable Atkinson cycle. Rated at a healthy and balanced 295 horse power and also 263 lb-ft of torque, the changed V-6 makes 25 even more horses as well as an extra 15 lb-ft compared with the previous device. Fuel economic situation is up, as well, with the front-wheel-drive 2017 Highlander V-6 gaining an EPA-rated 23 mpg integrated; all-wheel-drive models achieve 22 mpg. Both numbers mark a 2-mpg improvement over in 2014's Highlander as well as placed the crossover within 1 mpg of the four-cylinder Mazda CX-9's consolidated fuel-economy figures.

Toyota's 2GR-FKS 6 is a gem of an engine that builds power almost all the means up to its 6800-rpm redline. At the track, this Highlander cut 0.3 2nd off of its predecessor's zero-to-60-mph and 30-to-50-mph times, hitting the marks in 7.0 and 3.8 seconds, specifically. Regrettably, the 2017 Highlander's 5.6-second 50-to-70-mph passing away time was both slow-moving for the class and 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 uses a lot of grunt in the majority of real-world driving circumstances. Thanks in part to our examination cars and truck's automated stop-start system, we took care of an affordable 21 mpg during our time with the crossover, 2 mpg far 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 Ramírez (played by Sean Connery), after that the crossover's spruced up outside design is akin to the movie's handsome yet forgettable protagonist, Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert). New front as well as back fascias, upgraded headlamps, as well as an appealing set of LED taillights provide the Highlander an extra natural, SUV-like appearance. However we still wouldn't place it rather on the exact same degree of appearance as the butch Dodge Durango or the hot CX-9.

Unlike the exterior, the Highlander's interior has actually been left mostly untouched. Toyota did include 4 even more USB ports, bringing the total to five-- three in front and also two in the rear. The cockpit showcases a number of helpful storage spaces, consisting of a shelf that spans the reduced control panel and a substantial center-console container that can fit virtually a cubic foot of miscellaneous products. Ergonomic mistakes consist of difficult-to-grip temperature knobs for the climate-control system and a touchscreen that's as well far away from the motorist.

While base-level LE and LE And also Highlanders have a standard second-row bench seat, the XLE, SE, Limited, and also Limited Platinum grades feature captain's chairs between. (The bench seat is a no-cost choice on the XLE, Limited, and also Minimal Platinum.) Space abounds in the second row, but we located that our seven-passenger test automobile's container seats were mounted as well reduced for ideal convenience. Still, the Highlander's moving and also reclining second-row chairs resembled a set of La-Z-Boy recliners compared to the thin and also lightweight 60/40 split-folding third-row bench. Legroom in the wayback is simply 27.7 inches, a complete six inches fewer than exactly what the Volkswagen Atlas's rearmost row deals. If you frequently carry sufficient guests to advantage frequent use of the third row, consider the Atlas, a Honda Pilot, or a Ford Flex.

Darkness of an SUV

Even with the Highlander's carlike unibody building and construction and also low step-in height, this mid-size crossover's dealing with reminds us of an antique body-on-frame SUV, as its softly sprung suspension enables excessive body coming in turns. On the plus side, the suspension takes in road irregularities with nary a shudder, and the electrically aided steering is reasonably quick as well as typically well weighted.

At 4560 pounds, our all-wheel-drive Highlander test car was no lightweight, and also the excess mass made itself known 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 sported $3704 in options. Of that tally, all-wheel drive adds $1460 and brings vestigial mud flaps, hill-descent control, as well as a screen setting within the 4.2-inch gauge-cluster display that reveals torque distribution among the Highlander's 4 wheels. An $1810 rear-seat amusement system was one of the most pricey alternative, while $434 acquired flooring mats and also body-side moldings. Standard items consisted of navigating, a distance secret with push-button beginning, and also a sunroof, in addition to abovementioned features such as a blind-spot surveillance system and leather-trimmed first- as well as second-row seats (Toyota upholsters the 3rd row in vinyl).

While the Highlander's drab handling and confined third row continue to suppress our interest for the Indiana-built crossover, the updated 2017 Highlander's lengthy list of conventional safety and security and also comfort functions, a lot more powerful and fuel-efficient V-6 engine, and enhanced exterior styling will certainly continuously draw in stockpiles of shoppers seeking a comfortable as well as fairly valued mid-size crossover SUV.