Toyota Highlander Dimensions

Toyota Highlander Dimensions: Low-profile and reasonable, the Highlander could haul up to 8 in peaceful convenience. The base 185-hp 2.7-liter inline-four teams with a six-speed automated as well as front-wheel drive; the optional 295-hp 3.5-liter V-6 obtains an eight-speed automated. Four-wheel drive is optional for V-6 designs and also requirement for the crossbreed, which pairs the V-6 with two electric motors; we saw 24 mpg in our test. The Highlander supplies a sufficient driving experience, but it's more focused on indoor details and also storage space.


Toyota Highlander Dimensions


Like the 1986 film Highlander, the Toyota SUV that shares its name is a crowd-pleaser that fails to motivate eagerness among movie critics. After greater than 190,000 Highlanders rolled off dealer great deals in 2015, Toyota's mid-size crossover SUV went into 2017 with a host of changes aimed at pleasing the masses as well as pundits alike.

Significantly, 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 and also 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 examination automobile additionally packed blind-spot surveillance, a function not available on the lower-level Highlander LE as well as LE And also.

Coming with the 2017 Highlander's numerous security systems is the latest version of Toyota's 3.5-liter V-6 engine. The six-cylinder is standard on just about the base front-wheel-drive Highlander LE-- which continuouslies use a frail 185-hp inline-four-- and incorporates a host of modern innovations, consisting of a direct and also port fuel-injection system and also an upgraded valvetrain that allows the engine to run on the more efficient Atkinson cycle. Ranked at a healthy 295 horsepower and also 263 lb-ft of torque, the changed V-6 makes 25 more ponies as well as 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 incorporated; all-wheel-drive versions attain 22 mpg. Both numbers note a 2-mpg improvement over in 2015's Highlander and put the crossover within 1 mpg of the four-cylinder Mazda CX-9's consolidated fuel-economy numbers.

Toyota's 2GR-FKS 6 is a gem of an engine that develops power almost all the way as much as its 6800-rpm redline. At the track, this Highlander cut 0.3 second 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 seconds, respectively. Unfortunately, the 2017 Highlander's 5.6-second 50-to-70-mph passing time was both slow-moving for the class and also almost a 2nd behind that of its forbear. Blame the new eight-speed automatic transmission's hesitancy to downshift. Regardless, the revised Highlander's V-6 supplies plenty of grunt in a lot of real-world driving circumstances. Many thanks partially to our examination vehicle's automatic stop-start system, we took care of a sensible 21 mpg throughout our time with the crossover, 2 mpg better than just 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 charming Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez (played by Sean Connery), after that the crossover's revamped outside design belongs to the film's good-looking however featureless protagonist, Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert). New front and also back fascias, updated headlamps, and also an eye-catching collection of LED taillights give the Highlander a much more cohesive, SUV-like appearance. Yet we still wouldn't place it rather on the very same level of attractiveness as the butch Dodge Durango or the hot CX-9.

Unlike the outside, the Highlander's interior has been left largely untouched. Toyota did add 4 even more USB ports, bringing the total to five-- 3 in front as well as two in the rear. The cockpit includes a variety of handy storage nooks, including a shelf that covers the lower dashboard and also an enormous center-console container that can accommodate almost a cubic foot of various things. Ergonomic mistakes consist of difficult-to-grip temperature handles for the climate-control system as well as a touchscreen that's as well away from the chauffeur.

While base-level LE and LE Plus Highlanders feature a conventional second-row bench seat, the XLE, SE, Limited, and also Limited Platinum grades include captain's chairs in the middle. (The bench seat is a no-cost alternative on the XLE, Limited, and Minimal Platinum.) Area abounds in the 2nd row, but we located that our seven-passenger examination cars and truck's container seats were mounted also low for ideal convenience. Still, the Highlander's gliding and reclining second-row chairs resembled a pair of La-Z-Boy recliner chairs 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 6 inches fewer than what the Volkswagen Atlas's rearmost row deals. If you on a regular basis haul enough guests to quality regular use the 3rd row, consider the Atlas, a Honda Pilot, or a Ford Flex.

Shadow of an SUV

Even with the Highlander's carlike unibody building and also reduced step-in height, this mid-size crossover's managing advises us of an old-fashioned body-on-frame SUV, as its softly sprung suspension allows too much body roll in turns. On the plus side, the suspension soaks up road abnormalities with nary a shudder, and the electrically helped guiding is relatively quick and also typically well weighted.

At 4560 pounds, our all-wheel-drive Highlander examination vehicle was no light-weight, and also the excess mass made itself recognized when using the brakes, as the Toyota needed 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 also brings vestigial mud flaps, hill-descent control, and also a display screen setting within the 4.2-inch gauge-cluster screen that shows torque circulation among the Highlander's 4 wheels. An $1810 rear-seat amusement system was one of the most expensive choice, while $434 purchased flooring mats and body-side moldings. Standard products consisted of navigation, a proximity secret with push-button begin, and a sunroof, in addition to previously mentioned functions such as a blind-spot surveillance system and leather-trimmed very first- and also second-row seats (Toyota drapes the third row in plastic).

While the Highlander's lifeless handling and confined 3rd row remain to suppress our excitement for the Indiana-built crossover, the upgraded 2017 Highlander's long listing of conventional security and also benefit features, more effective and also fuel-efficient V-6 engine, and also improved outside designing will certainly continue to attract hoards of customers searching for a comfy as well as moderately valued mid-size crossover SUV.