Toyota Highlander Specs

Toyota Highlander Specs: Low-profile as well as reasonable, the Highlander could haul up to eight in quiet comfort. The base 185-hp 2.7-liter inline-four teams with a six-speed automatic and also front-wheel drive; the optional 295-hp 3.5-liter V-6 obtains an eight-speed automatic. All-wheel drive is optional for V-6 versions and criterion for the crossbreed, which pairs the V-6 with 2 electric motors; we saw 24 mpg in our test. The Highlander offers a sufficient driving experience, however it's even more concentrated on indoor details and also storage.


Toyota Highlander Specs


Like the 1986 movie Highlander, the Toyota SUV that shares its name is a crowd-pleaser that cannot influence eagerness among doubters. After greater than 190,000 Highlanders rolled off supplier lots in 2014, Toyota's mid-size crossover SUV entered 2017 with a host of adjustments focused on satisfying the masses and experts alike.

Notably, all Highlanders, from the base $31,590 LE to the top-of-the-line $48,840 Highlander Hybrid Limited Platinum, currently come standard with a pre-collision caution system with pedestrian discovery as well as automated emergency braking, plus lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, flexible cruise control, and also automatic high-beams. Our all-wheel-drive $43,184 Highlander XLE test auto also loaded blind-spot tracking, an attribute inaccessible on the lower-level Highlander LE and LE And also.

Coming with the 2017 Highlander's numerous security systems is the most up to date variation of Toyota's 3.5-liter V-6 engine. The six-cylinder is basic on almost the base front-wheel-drive Highlander LE-- which continues to make use of a frail 185-hp inline-four-- and integrates a host of modern-day innovations, consisting of a straight and port fuel-injection system and also an updated valvetrain that allows the engine to work on the much more effective Atkinson cycle. Ranked at a healthy and balanced 295 horsepower and 263 lb-ft of torque, the modified V-6 makes 25 more ponies and also an extra 15 lb-ft compared to the previous unit. Fuel economy is up, also, with the front-wheel-drive 2017 Highlander V-6 earning an EPA-rated 23 mpg integrated; all-wheel-drive versions accomplish 22 mpg. Both figures mark a 2-mpg improvement over last year's Highlander as well as 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 develops power mostly all the way approximately its 6800-rpm redline. At the track, this Highlander shaved 0.3 second off of its predecessor's zero-to-60-mph and 30-to-50-mph times, hitting the marks in 7.0 and also 3.8 secs, specifically. Sadly, the 2017 Highlander's 5.6-second 50-to-70-mph death time was both slow-moving for the course and also almost a 2nd behind that of its forbear. Criticize the new eight-speed transmission's hesitancy to downshift. Regardless, the revised Highlander's V-6 supplies a lot of grunt in a lot of real-world driving situations. Many thanks partially to our test automobile's automated stop-start system, we managed a practical 21 mpg during our time with the crossover, 2 mpg far better compared to what we got from a Mazda CX-9.

The Element of Crossover

If the 2017 Highlander's V-6 powertrain is the matching of Highlander's charming Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez (played by Sean Connery), then the crossover's overhauled exterior layout belongs to the film's good-looking however featureless lead character, Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert). New front and also rear fascias, updated headlamps, and an appealing collection of LED taillights give the Highlander a much more cohesive, SUV-like look. However we still would not put it fairly on the same degree of beauty as the butch Dodge Durango or the hot CX-9.

Unlike the outside, the Highlander's inside has actually been left mostly unblemished. Toyota did add four more USB ports, bringing the total amount to 5-- three in front and also two in the rear. The cockpit features a number of useful storage space spaces, including a rack that covers the lower dashboard and an enormous center-console bin that can suit nearly a cubic foot of assorted products. Ergonomic faults consist of difficult-to-grip temperature handles for the climate-control system and also a touchscreen that's too far away from the motorist.

While base-level LE and also LE Plus Highlanders come with a typical second-row bench seat, the XLE, SE, Limited, as well as Minimal Platinum grades include captain's chairs in the middle. (The bench seat is a no-cost choice on the XLE, Limited, and also Minimal Platinum.) Area is plentiful in the second row, but we located that our seven-passenger test auto's bucket seats were placed as well low for ideal comfort. Still, the Highlander's sliding and reclining second-row chairs resembled a set of La-Z-Boy recliner chairs compared with the slim and lightweight 60/40 split-folding third-row bench. Legroom in the wayback is just 27.7 inches, a complete six inches fewer compared to exactly what the Volkswagen Atlas's rearmost row deals. If you consistently carry adequate passengers to value constant use of the 3rd row, consider the Atlas, a Honda Pilot, or a Ford Flex.

Darkness of an SUV

Even with the Highlander's carlike unibody construction as well as reduced step-in elevation, this mid-size crossover's dealing with advises us of an antique body-on-frame SUV, as its softly sprung suspension allows extreme body coming in turns. On the plus side, the suspension soaks up roadway abnormalities with nary a shudder, as well as the electrically aided guiding is reasonably fast as well as generally well heavy.

At 4560 extra pounds, our all-wheel-drive Highlander test cars and truck was no lightweight, and the excess mass made itself known when applying the brakes, as the Toyota required 181 feet of tarmac to quit from 70 miles per hour-- 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 options. Of that tally, four-wheel drive includes $1460 and brings vestigial mud flaps, hill-descent control, and also a screen 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 the most expensive choice, while $434 bought flooring mats and body-side moldings. Requirement products consisted of navigating, a proximity key with push-button beginning, as well as a sunroof, along with abovementioned functions such as a blind-spot monitoring system as well as leather-trimmed first- and second-row seats (Toyota upholsters the third row in vinyl).

While the Highlander's drab handling and also cramped third row continue to curb our interest for the Indiana-built crossover, the updated 2017 Highlander's long checklist of typical security as well as comfort attributes, more effective and also fuel-efficient V-6 engine, and boosted exterior styling will continuously draw in hoards of customers searching for a comfortable and also reasonably priced mid-size crossover SUV.