The Midsize Three Row SUV Marketplace: A Comprehensive Review of the Toyota Highlander

There is no shortage of competition in the midsize three row SUV market, with many manufacturers vying for attention from families and adventure-seekers alike. Among the options available, the Toyota Highlander stands out as a top contender, offering an impressive combination of practicality, efficiency, and comfort. In this article, we will delve into the features and benefits of the Toyota Highlander, exploring its strengths and weaknesses in detail.

The Interior: A Comfortable and Practical Space

A family SUV requires an accommodating interior, and the Toyota Highlander delivers in spades. The front seats are comfortable and supportive, with adjustable thigh support that adds a welcome touch of luxury to the driving experience. The controls are straightforward and simple, with big buttons for the climate controls, giant knobs for the radio and temperature controls, and easy-to-reach onscreen buttons for navigation systems. Even in cars equipped with advanced technology, these controls are designed to be intuitive and user-friendly.

The interior is also attractive, with nicely grained plastics that add a touch of sophistication to the cabin. However, while the second row seats are spacious and comfortable, the center seat is narrower and less accommodating than its outboard counterparts. This uneven profile can make it difficult to securely fit child seats in the third row, although the Center seat has a clever trick up its sleeve: it folds up and lifts out of the way, allowing you to store it under the center console or leave it open as an "alleyway" to the third row. Alternatively, you can insert this tray table for added convenience.

The Third Row: A Compromise between Space and Practicality

Access to the third row is only possible from the passenger side, with the seat sliding out of the way once you climb into the back. This design choice does limit the practicality of the Highlander in terms of family-friendly functionality, although it does allow for a flat floor when the third row is folded up, providing plenty of cargo space for strollers, luggage, or other essentials.

The Third Row Seat Itself: A Trade-off between Space and Comfort

While the second row seats are comfortable and spacious, the third row seat is more limited in terms of both size and comfort. This is partly due to the uneven profile of the seat, which makes it harder to secure a child seat or ensure comfortable seating for adults. However, the Highlander does offer a clever solution: by folding up the Center seat, you can create an open space that allows children to play or move around while still keeping the rest of the cabin organized.

The Powertrain: A Reliable and Efficient Option

Most Highlanders come equipped with a 3.5 L V6 engine paired with a six-speed automatic transmission. This powertrain combination is renowned for its reliability and efficiency, providing plenty of power while also delivering decent fuel economy. While there is no four-wheel drive option available on the 4-cylinder version of the Highlander, this limitation does not significantly impact the overall practicality of the vehicle.

The Hybrid Version: A More Fuel-Efficient Option

However, for those seeking a more fuel-efficient option, the Toyota Highlander hybrid offers an attractive alternative. By combining the V6 engine with an electric motor, the Highlander hybrid achieves exceptional fuel economy, rivaling that of small sedans in some cases. This is due to its clever use of regenerative braking and optimized power delivery, which together result in a significant reduction in emissions and improved overall efficiency.

Handling: A Trade-off between Safety and Driver Engagement

One area where the Toyota Highlander falls short is in terms of handling. While it is safe and secure on the road, with advanced safety features like lane departure warning and adaptive cruise control, the vehicle's dynamics are somewhat compromised as a result. The steering is light and lacking in feedback, which can make it difficult to engage with the vehicle or respond quickly to changing situations.

The Price: A Significant Factor in the Highlander's Appeal

Perhaps the most significant drawback of the Toyota Highlander is its price. While the hybrid model is certainly an attractive option for those seeking improved fuel efficiency, even the more basic trim levels come in at a premium. With some models starting at over $47,000, this may be a barrier to entry for many families or individuals on a budget.

Conclusion

Despite its limitations, the Toyota Highlander remains an excellent choice for families and adventure-seekers alike. Its combination of practicality, efficiency, and comfort make it an attractive option in a crowded midsize three row SUV market. While handling is somewhat compromised and price may be a significant factor for some buyers, these drawbacks do not detract from the overall value proposition offered by the Highlander.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthere's lots of competition in the midsize three row SUV Marketplace some of them are pretty good choices but the Toyota Highlander it's one of the best let's find out why a family SUV requires an accommodating interior in the Highlander delivers there's plenty of room up front the front seats are comfortable on The Limited level that we have there's adjustable thigh support that's a nice feature controls are straightforward and simple big buttons for the climate controls giant knobs for the radio and temperature controls even on cars equipped with the navigation system there's big onscreen buttons and it's an easy reach for the driver the Highlander has an attractive interior but it falls short of being luxurious the Plastics are nicely grained but they're all hard to to touch there's lots of room in the second row seat these outboard seats they're very comfortable the center seat isn't as comfortable though it's fairly narrow this uneven profile also makes it hard to securely fit a child seat here but this Center seat has a trick it folds up and it lifts out of the way then you store it underneath the center console once you do that you can leave this open as an Alleyway to the third row seat or you can put in this tray table access to the third row seat is only from the passenger side the seat slides out of the way once you climb into the back though you're going to find out there's not a lot of space it's best left for the kids at least when you're not using the third row seat it folds flat for plenty of cargo space most Highlanders come with a 3.5 L V6 engine made into a six-speed automatic you know no matter what Toyota bolts that powertrain into it does a great job there's plenty of power and decent fuel economy you can also get a 4cylinder version of the Highlander but that version is not available with four wheeel Drive the Highlander we're in now is a hybrid version you do give up some towing capacity compared to the normal Highlander v6 that can tow 5,000 lbs this can tow 3500 otherwise you don't really give up any utility you do gain some things out first off the hybrid version it's faster than the normal V6 also it gets phenomenal fuel economy it can get the same fuel economy as a small sedan and keep in mind this is a fairly heavy three row SUV with all-wheel drive all Highlanders have a compliant ride it does a really good job at soaking up the bumps it's also really quiet inside Highlander's biggest drawback is its handling it's totally safe and secure but it's not any fun to drive it doesn't have much agility steering well it's light lacks driver feedback if you want a three row SUV that's more engaging to drive you can look at a Mazda CX9 or Chevrolet Traverse another drawback especially for the Highlander Hybrid is its price this hybrid limited we're driving it's over $47,000 that's a whole lot of money luckily if you get a more normally equipped Highlander well its price is comparable to other three row SUVs overall the Highlander makes for a pretty tempting package as a family SUV true if you're looking for something sporty to drive well look elsewhere but the Highlander it's practical it's efficient and it's comfortablethere's lots of competition in the midsize three row SUV Marketplace some of them are pretty good choices but the Toyota Highlander it's one of the best let's find out why a family SUV requires an accommodating interior in the Highlander delivers there's plenty of room up front the front seats are comfortable on The Limited level that we have there's adjustable thigh support that's a nice feature controls are straightforward and simple big buttons for the climate controls giant knobs for the radio and temperature controls even on cars equipped with the navigation system there's big onscreen buttons and it's an easy reach for the driver the Highlander has an attractive interior but it falls short of being luxurious the Plastics are nicely grained but they're all hard to to touch there's lots of room in the second row seat these outboard seats they're very comfortable the center seat isn't as comfortable though it's fairly narrow this uneven profile also makes it hard to securely fit a child seat here but this Center seat has a trick it folds up and it lifts out of the way then you store it underneath the center console once you do that you can leave this open as an Alleyway to the third row seat or you can put in this tray table access to the third row seat is only from the passenger side the seat slides out of the way once you climb into the back though you're going to find out there's not a lot of space it's best left for the kids at least when you're not using the third row seat it folds flat for plenty of cargo space most Highlanders come with a 3.5 L V6 engine made into a six-speed automatic you know no matter what Toyota bolts that powertrain into it does a great job there's plenty of power and decent fuel economy you can also get a 4cylinder version of the Highlander but that version is not available with four wheeel Drive the Highlander we're in now is a hybrid version you do give up some towing capacity compared to the normal Highlander v6 that can tow 5,000 lbs this can tow 3500 otherwise you don't really give up any utility you do gain some things out first off the hybrid version it's faster than the normal V6 also it gets phenomenal fuel economy it can get the same fuel economy as a small sedan and keep in mind this is a fairly heavy three row SUV with all-wheel drive all Highlanders have a compliant ride it does a really good job at soaking up the bumps it's also really quiet inside Highlander's biggest drawback is its handling it's totally safe and secure but it's not any fun to drive it doesn't have much agility steering well it's light lacks driver feedback if you want a three row SUV that's more engaging to drive you can look at a Mazda CX9 or Chevrolet Traverse another drawback especially for the Highlander Hybrid is its price this hybrid limited we're driving it's over $47,000 that's a whole lot of money luckily if you get a more normally equipped Highlander well its price is comparable to other three row SUVs overall the Highlander makes for a pretty tempting package as a family SUV true if you're looking for something sporty to drive well look elsewhere but the Highlander it's practical it's efficient and it's comfortable\n"