Toyota Highlander Wiki

Toyota Highlander Wiki: Low-profile and also practical, the Highlander can haul up to 8 in peaceful comfort. 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. All-wheel drive is optional for V-6 designs and also criterion for the hybrid, which sets the V-6 with two electrical motors; we saw 24 mpg in our test. The Highlander provides an adequate driving experience, yet it's even more focused on indoor details as well as storage.


Toyota Highlander Wiki


Like the 1986 movie Highlander, the Toyota SUV that shares its name is a crowd-pleaser that fails to influence fervor amongst doubters. After more than 190,000 Highlanders rolled off dealer whole lots in 2015, Toyota's mid-size crossover SUV went into 2017 with a host of changes targeted at satisfying the masses as well as experts alike.

Significantly, 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 and also automated emergency braking, plus lane-departure warning, lane-keeping help, flexible cruise ship control, as well as automatic high-beams. Our all-wheel-drive $43,184 Highlander XLE examination cars and truck likewise loaded blind-spot tracking, an attribute inaccessible on the lower-level Highlander LE and LE Plus.

Going along with the 2017 Highlander's many safety and security systems is the most up to date variation of Toyota's 3.5-liter V-6 engine. The six-cylinder is standard on all but the base front-wheel-drive Highlander LE-- which continuouslies make use of a frail 185-hp inline-four-- and also integrates a host of modern technologies, consisting of a straight and also port fuel-injection system and an updated valvetrain that allows the engine to run on the a lot more efficient Atkinson cycle. Rated at a healthy 295 horse power as well as 263 lb-ft of torque, the modified V-6 makes 25 even more ponies and also an extra 15 lb-ft compared to the previous unit. Fuel economic situation is up, too, with the front-wheel-drive 2017 Highlander V-6 earning an EPA-rated 23 mpg integrated; all-wheel-drive models attain 22 mpg. Both numbers mark a 2-mpg enhancement over last year's Highlander and put the crossover within 1 mpg of the four-cylinder Mazda CX-9's mixed fuel-economy figures.

Toyota's 2GR-FKS six is a treasure of an engine that develops power mostly all the method up to its 6800-rpm redline. At the track, this Highlander cut 0.3 2nd off of its precursor's zero-to-60-mph as well as 30-to-50-mph times, hitting the marks in 7.0 and 3.8 seconds, respectively. However, the 2017 Highlander's 5.6-second 50-to-70-mph passing time was both slow-moving for the course and virtually a second behind that of its forbear. Blame the new eight-speed automatic transmission's hesitancy to downshift. No matter, the modified Highlander's V-6 offers plenty of grunt in the majority of real-world driving circumstances. Thanks in part to our test vehicle's automatic stop-start system, we managed a practical 21 mpg during our time with the crossover, 2 mpg far better compared to what we received 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 overhauled outside layout belongs to the movie's good-looking but forgettable lead character, Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert). New front and back fascias, upgraded headlamps, and also an attractive collection of LED taillights offer the Highlander an extra cohesive, SUV-like appearance. However we still wouldn't put it quite on the same level of attractiveness as the butch Dodge Durango or the shapely CX-9.

Unlike the outside, the Highlander's interior has actually been left greatly unblemished. Toyota did include 4 more USB ports, bringing the total amount to five-- three ahead and also 2 in the rear. The cockpit includes a variety of convenient storage spaces, including a shelf that extends the lower dashboard as well as a huge center-console bin that could suit virtually 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 motorist.

While base-level LE and LE And also Highlanders have a conventional second-row bench seat, the XLE, SE, Limited, and Minimal Platinum qualities feature captain's chairs in the center. (The bench seat is a no-cost alternative on the XLE, Limited, and Limited Platinum.) Space is plentiful in the 2nd row, but we discovered that our seven-passenger test automobile's pail seats were placed also reduced for optimum convenience. Still, the Highlander's sliding and also reclining second-row chairs resembled a pair of La-Z-Boy reclining chairs compared with the thin and also flimsy 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 regularly haul adequate travelers to quality constant use the 3rd row, think about the Atlas, a Honda Pilot, or a Ford Flex.

Shadow of an SUV

Even with the Highlander's carlike unibody building and construction and also low step-in height, this mid-size crossover's managing advises us of an antique body-on-frame SUV, as its softly sprung suspension permits excessive body roll in turns. On the bonus side, the suspension takes in road irregularities 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 auto 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 miles per hour-- 11 feet greater than a 161-pound-lighter all-wheel-drive GMC Acadia Denali.

With an as-tested price of $43,184, our Toasted Walnut Pearl Highlander XLE showed off $3704 in choices. Of that tally, all-wheel drive includes $1460 and also brings vestigial mud flaps, hill-descent control, and also a screen setup within the 4.2-inch gauge-cluster display that shows torque distribution amongst the Highlander's four wheels. An $1810 rear-seat home entertainment system was one of the most costly option, while $434 acquired floor mats and body-side moldings. Requirement items included navigation, a closeness trick with push-button beginning, and also a sunroof, as well as aforementioned features such as a blind-spot monitoring system as well as leather-trimmed initial- and second-row seats (Toyota drapes the 3rd row in plastic).

While the Highlander's lifeless handling as well as cramped third row continuously suppress our enthusiasm for the Indiana-built crossover, the upgraded 2017 Highlander's long checklist of typical safety and also comfort functions, much more powerful and fuel-efficient V-6 engine, as well as boosted outside styling will continue to attract heaps of customers trying to find a comfy as well as moderately priced mid-size crossover SUV.