Toyota Highlander Reviews
By
pupu sahma
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Friday, April 13, 2018
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Toyota Highlander
Toyota Highlander Reviews
Like the 1986 movie Highlander, the Toyota SUV that shares its name is a crowd-pleaser that cannot motivate eagerness among critics. After greater than 190,000 Highlanders rolled off supplier great deals in 2015, Toyota's mid-size crossover SUV entered 2017 with a host of changes focused on satisfying the masses as well as pundits alike.
Notably, all Highlanders, from the base $31,590 LE to the top-of-the-line $48,840 Highlander Hybrid Limited Platinum, now come standard with a pre-collision warning system with pedestrian discovery as well as automated emergency braking, plus lane-departure caution, lane-keeping help, adaptive cruise control, and automatic high-beams. Our all-wheel-drive $43,184 Highlander XLE examination car also packed blind-spot surveillance, an attribute inaccessible on the lower-level Highlander LE and LE And also.
Accompanying the 2017 Highlander's many safety systems is the most recent version of Toyota's 3.5-liter V-6 engine. The six-cylinder is common on almost the base front-wheel-drive Highlander LE-- which remains to utilize a wimpy 185-hp inline-four-- and also incorporates a host of modern-day innovations, consisting of a direct as well as port fuel-injection system and also an upgraded valvetrain that permits the engine to run on the extra efficient Atkinson cycle. Rated at a healthy 295 horsepower and 263 lb-ft of torque, the modified V-6 makes 25 even more ponies as well as an added 15 lb-ft compared to the previous device. Fuel economic climate is up, also, with the front-wheel-drive 2017 Highlander V-6 earning an EPA-rated 23 mpg incorporated; all-wheel-drive versions achieve 22 mpg. Both figures note a 2-mpg enhancement over in 2014's Highlander as well as put the crossover within 1 mpg of the four-cylinder Mazda CX-9's consolidated fuel-economy numbers.
Toyota's 2GR-FKS six is a treasure of an engine that develops power mostly all the method as much as its 6800-rpm redline. At the track, this Highlander shaved 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 secs, respectively. Regrettably, the 2017 Highlander's 5.6-second 50-to-70-mph passing away time was both sluggish for the class as well as nearly a second behind that of its forbear. Blame the new eight-speed transmission's hesitancy to downshift. No matter, the revised Highlander's V-6 uses lots of grunt in a lot of real-world driving circumstances. Many thanks partially to our examination vehicle's automated stop-start system, we handled an affordable 21 mpg throughout our time with the crossover, 2 mpg better compared to exactly what we got from a Mazda CX-9.
The Aspect of Crossover
If the 2017 Highlander's V-6 powertrain is the equivalent of Highlander's lovely Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos RamÃrez (played by Sean Connery), after that the crossover's spruced up exterior style belongs to the film's good-looking yet featureless protagonist, Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert). New front and rear fascias, upgraded headlamps, and also an appealing collection of LED taillights give the Highlander an extra cohesive, SUV-like appearance. Yet we still would not put it fairly on the same degree of appearance 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 amount to 5-- 3 ahead and also 2 in the rear. The cabin features a variety of convenient storage space spaces, consisting of a shelf that covers the lower dashboard as well as a massive center-console bin that can suit virtually a cubic foot of various products. Ergonomic faults include difficult-to-grip temperature level knobs for the climate-control system and a touchscreen that's also far from the chauffeur.
While base-level LE and LE And also Highlanders come with a conventional second-row bench seat, the XLE, SE, Limited, and also Minimal Platinum grades feature captain's chairs in the center. (The bench seat is a no-cost choice on the XLE, Limited, and Restricted Platinum.) Space abounds in the 2nd row, yet we discovered that our seven-passenger test cars and truck's bucket seats were installed as well reduced for optimum comfort. Still, the Highlander's sliding and also reclining second-row chairs were like a set of La-Z-Boy recliner chairs compared with the slim and flimsy 60/40 split-folding third-row bench. Legroom in the wayback is simply 27.7 inches, a full six inches fewer than just what the Volkswagen Atlas's rearmost row offers. If you regularly haul sufficient travelers to benefit frequent use the 3rd row, think about the Atlas, a Honda Pilot, or a Ford Flex.
Darkness of an SUV
Despite the Highlander's carlike unibody building and construction as well as reduced step-in elevation, this mid-size crossover's handling reminds us of an antique body-on-frame SUV, as its softly sprung suspension enables too much body coming in turns. On the plus side, the suspension soaks up roadway abnormalities with nary a shudder, and the electrically aided guiding is reasonably quick as well as generally well heavy.
At 4560 extra pounds, our all-wheel-drive Highlander test cars and truck was no light-weight, and also the excess mass made itself understood when using the brakes, as the Toyota needed 181 feet of tarmac to stop from 70 miles per hour-- 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 alternatives. Of that tally, all-wheel drive includes $1460 and brings vestigial mud flaps, hill-descent control, and also a display screen setting within the 4.2-inch gauge-cluster screen that shows torque distribution among the Highlander's four wheels. An $1810 rear-seat entertainment system was the most expensive alternative, while $434 bought flooring mats and body-side moldings. Requirement items consisted of navigating, a closeness key with push-button begin, and also a sunroof, as well as previously mentioned features such as a blind-spot surveillance system and also leather-trimmed very first- and second-row seats (Toyota cushions the 3rd row in vinyl).
While the Highlander's lifeless handling as well as confined 3rd row continue to suppress our interest for the Indiana-built crossover, the updated 2017 Highlander's long list of common security as well as benefit attributes, more effective as well as fuel-efficient V-6 engine, as well as improved exterior designing will remain to bring in stockpiles of buyers seeking a comfy and also fairly valued mid-size crossover SUV.