Once upon a time (alright, twenty years ago), Toyota introduced the Highlander. Pitched as a more family-friendly alternative to the rugged 4Runner in the lineup, to my personal surprise it quickly became a hit. I can’t say I was a big fan initially as to me it looked a little “soft”, however I came to eventually revise my first impressions and about fifteen years and three generations later one joined our own fleet where it has been doing a stellar job for the last almost five years now. So it was with a feeling of familiarity that I sauntered down my front walk to greet this new version last week.
It seems about the same size as the outgoing one because it pretty much is, the only dimension that’s different really is length with slightly more than an additional two inches of it in the wheelbase and overall length; now it’s also built on Toyota’s TNGA-K platform. Compared to most of its current three-row CUV competition, the Highlander was (and still is) a skosh smaller which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, probably being as much a positive for some as a negative for others.
Styling is evolutionary, i.e. it’s still instantly recognizable as a Highlander with similar overall lines and, as usual for the model, somewhat conservative styling that blends in rather than stands out. The pretty light blue “Moon Dust” color on the outside garnered several compliments over my week with it and marks a return of a hue that seems to have in general been disappearing from our roads over the last few years.
Opening the door is the point at which I was heavily surprised as the interior has improved hugely over the last generation. Not that the outgoing model was bad (it wasn’t) but this new one is significantly upgraded in materials as well as style.
Starting with the seats, this (admittedly top-spec) Platinum trim level comes equipped with diamond-patterned perforated leather seats that seem designed to draw attention to themselves with actual styling rather than as merely comfortable perches to sit upon. The seats (heated and ventilated) were soft, cushy, yet still supportive for hours on end although they have lost the electrically extending thigh support (driver’s side only) that the older model possessed. It was the first thing I looked for when adjusting them and while disappointed initially and fearing the cushion too short, it ended up being a non-issue for me by the end of the week.
The next most obvious change is the significantly “embiggened” center screen in the dashboard. While the old one was one of the larger screens back in 2014 when it debuted, by the end of the run it was merely average, however this new one measures in at 12.3″ and is set up from the start to either be used all for one function or to adjust itself into three split sections that worked wonderfully to manage, entertain, and instruct all at the same time with for example the HVAC, Music, and Navigation all running and displaying at once. (Note that this is an upgraded screen size, the standard screen in some lower trim levels measures in at 8″).
Whether you like screens or not, at least all the frequently used controls are situated high on the dashboard with knobs for the radio and redundant buttons for the HVAC as well as hard buttons to switch between some commonly used screen functions.
Set in a sort of visually patterned aluminum (but plastic) frame, the first thing that comes to mind is that the whole thing looks sort of like a guitar spread across the dashboard behind it with the screen being the body, the silver in front of the passenger the neck and the right vent the headstock.
The materials however are first rate, and the visual juxtaposition of soft stitched light tan leather (or much better facsimile of leather here than in other recent uses by Toyota of a similar motif) on the dash and doors with rich sort of mahogany-colored darker areas and then the patterned silver trim and high-grade black plastics marked this as an interior that could easily be worthy of a Lexus badge; while that brand’s RX line impressed me a lot, the Highlander has caught up and perhaps even surpassed it in areas currently.
One of the areas that I am less than enamored with in our 2016 model compared to the older Mercedes GL we had concurrently are the doorpulls. While on the Mercedes they were solid with thick textured vinyl bonded to the surface, in the Highlander they were a handle with thin vinyl wrapped (but not glued) around it that eventually started to bunch up a bit and no longer looks tight and feels a little strange. The new Highlander has improved a lot here with a door pull “pocket” that while still vinyl wrapped now appears to have that vinyl attached to the backing and it all feels much more substantial.
While there is no genuine wood here there are slabs of a very appealing silver-gray patterned imitation used on the door panels and center console that looks great, is visually interesting, and somehow perfectly fits in with the other hues and textures.
One of the favorite and more unexpected features of the old Highlander was its large shelf that crossed the cabin under the dashboard; that is thankfully not gone, however it is now divided into two separate sections that still fulfill the same function but delineate the driver/passenger spaces a little more. Still equipped with a cable pass-through from the plugs below it still allows very convenient stowage of phones, pens, cards, hand sanitizer, tissues, loose change and/or whatever else people carry with them.
The center console still has a conventional automatic shifter handle along with a couple of cupholders but now also includes a toggle for Sport/Normal/Eco drive modes along with a dial to select different surface conditions as is becoming the norm in many vehicles as well as a button for snowy conditions.
As before, the AWD system does transfer power as needed and not just due to detected slippage. Nominally FWD, the rear axle comes into play even on dry roads from a stop as torque is provided. Under one’s elbow is a large compartment whose lid swings open in this case to first reveal a shelf with a wireless charging pad built in for a phone, and then that swings up as well for actual stowage of items.
One small but somehow significant change to those of us familiar with Toyotas is the elimination of the LCD digital clock that seemingly has been a fixture on most every Toyota since sometime in the 1980s and makes one wonder if at one point someone got a screaming deal based on purchasing several billion of them at once. It appears that Toyota finally ran out of inventory as now there are two large LCD readouts of the current time embedded both within the instrument cluster for the driver as well as in the center screen for the passengers to see.
The second row, as before, is adjustable fore/aft and in this trim level only equipped with large captain’s chairs. Comfortable and with arm rests, sitting back here is easy for all-day drives with heated seats standard and a cupholder console placed between the seats on the floor. Previously the cupholders were part of a fold-down tray that I think would still have been a better option for the second-row passenger than the floor-mounted cupholders that may be more likely to be stepped on when getting into or out of the third row.
However when deployed the old tray-with-cupholders was almost impossible to climb over when filled with drinks whereas this would be easier, so that makes sense and likely saves money too. Of course the seats also can fold and move forward to facilitate egress out the side rather than through the middle but the drinks in the tray issue can still arise, at least with the right-hand seat that it is affixed to.
There’s lots of space with the front adjusted for myself (6’1″ with 32″ inseam), obviously moving the second row forward or back changes that and also changes the legroom for the third row behind or for cargo space. The second row seats also fold down for more cargo space. The rear of the center console houses separate HVAC controls for back here as well as several power ports along with the controls for the aforementioned heated seats.
The third row, still equipped with three seatbelts (so still leaving this as a seven-seater even when equipped with the captain’s chairs in the second row) is still tight but doable for smaller kids but not comfortable for adults. The two extra inches of length help as does the second row adjustability but there’s only so much that can be done here.
Cargo room with the third row folded is plenty for the remaining four possible occupants, but if all rows are fully deployed then luggage needs to be kept to a minimum. One big improvement this time around is the third row headrest situation, now they just flop forward out of the way of their own volition when the seats are pushed forward and down, previously you’d have to find the little button and retract them down manually to get them out of the way to avoid getting hung up on the second row. And when setting the seats up it was awkward to raise the headrests again to the proper position, again this time it does it automatically.
The third row does split-fold 60/40 so five people and their luggage could fit pretty well (and has worked for our family numerous times on long family trips). There’s actually more room back there than one would think.
One other cost-cutting move is the removal of the separately opening rear window, now the only choice is to open the entire hatch. I used that separate window feature quite a bit in ours and am sad to see it go, once I transported a 10-foot length of kitchen countertop a distance of 50 miles that way along with numerous other instances involving 16-17 foot lengths of baseboard and other long trim items that would not have worked in a pickup truck without a rack.
I did however use this Highlander to return a few lengths of 8-foot baseboard that had no problem fitting between the seats and resting on the center console, ten-footers would have easily fit as well.
Still, while certain features are no longer, others have been improved upon as noted above, mainly having to do with interior materials quality and screen sizes etc. Likely Toyota surveyed users as to features they liked and used vs. items that could be improved on and the choices made do seem to represent things that would be noticed and used more often than others.
Underhood is still a 3.5l V6, a carry-over unit from the end of the prior generation providing 295hp and 263lb-ft of torque to haul about 4450 pounds around. Paired with an 8-speed automatic, this is pretty much what is also sold in the Lexus RX350 amongst other models and works essentially the same, feeling powerful enough for most tasks without feeling strained but not overwhelmed with an overabundance of power either. Toyota also offers a Hybrid option for the Highlander but the old 2.7l 4-cylinder option has been put out to pasture.
As mentioned above, the Dynamic Torque Vectoring does move power around even on dry roads (front to back and side to side for the rear wheels) so presumably on FWD versions there is enough of it to break grip or invoke the traction control system at times. At highway speeds, this system can automatically command the propshaft to the rear to disengage if there is no need for torque to be transferred rearward in order to provide increased fuel economy.
The engine is quiet, and does its job without complaint. The overall driving experience isn’t particularly exciting, yet then again most owners of Highlanders and similar three-row CUVs aren’t looking to demolish the Nurburgring lap record or even the lap record at the local SuperTarget parking lot but just want to drop the kids at school, run the errands, go to the market, take everyone to Grandma’s house at Thanksgiving, and not think about the underpinnings much beyond getting the oil changed whenever the maintenance minder says it is time to do so.
I did play with the drive mode settings and really could not detect a difference between Sport and Normal modes, Eco perhaps shifted a little earlier for the ups and later for the downs but it wasn’t significantly different either. This isn’t a feature that would be missed as currently implemented were it to disappear.
In that respect, the Highlander (and every Highlander before it) excels. It’s comfortable, quiet, spacious, reliable, and thoughtfully designed for its occupants. It can hustle around corners once familiar with it and its dynamics, which as before veer a little toward the numb side, even with the lower profile 20″ tires on this one there isn’t a whole lot of feel but there still is an admirable ride quality that is almost as good as our older XLE model with 18″ wheels, more or less just gliding over rough transitions such as a particular railroad crossing near my home that is extremely rough in anything body-on-frame.
This generation of Highlander (still built in Princeton Indiana) also continues to provide a 5000lb tow rating with its V6 as did the last one which is higher than that of many of its competitors which may be of interest to those that tow such things as pop-up campers or the occasional heavily loaded cargo trailer.
Over a week’s worth of driving totaling around 350 miles with about 165 of that on the freeway to and around Denver and back home and the balance mainly within my city and the surrounding towns I averaged 22mpg (on regular gasoline). The EPA calls for a 23Average with 20City and 27Highway ratings so this is fairly accurate but better than our 2016 which struggles to reach 20mpg on average while rarely exceeding the low 20’s on the freeway.
Likely the 8-speed (offered since 2017) is a big improvement in efficiency over the 6-speed and I consciously avoided constantly looking at the RPM gauge as some have felt this transmission shifts “too often”. Since I purposely didn’t look much but was conscious of it I noticed that I did not notice it (how’s that for confusing wordplay!) shifting excessively, it certainly isn’t apparent by feel and the powertrain is exceptionally quiet as well. Whatever it’s doing seems to work.
Equipped with stop/start technology, the Highlander features a twist – come to a stop normally and the engine remains on, however a small message appears that to engage stop/start you should apply a bit more pressure to the brake pedal. Do so while still at the stop and the engine cuts out. It restarts either with less pressure on the pedal or if the running engine is needed to provide something such as A/C etc. This was a great implementation of the technology and eliminated the need for a button to turn it off for those that dislike it, just drive normally and keep regular pressure on the brake pedal while stopped and the engine remains on. The engine turning off and back on if the mode however was engaged was accomplished smoothly and with almost no indication thereof.
Of course what Toyota has always provided is good value and as with most offerings that continues here. Due to an overall excellent reputation the resale value on many Toyotas is sky-high and my own current personal anecdote is illustrative and relevant here as well – we will be selling our 2016 XLE AWD model with 64,000 miles that we purchased for $36,600 in December of 2015. Carvana has offered us $23,850 for it and an unnamed Denver luxury brand dealer that directly competes with Lexus has offered us $24,500 for it based on pictures alone.
Having just last week sold another vehicle to Carvana has convinced us that they are for real and hassle-free, so even if we take that slightly lower but zero-hassle offer our Highlander retained 65% of its value over 4 years and 9 months which is exceptional. Note that those are trade-in values (and valid even without buying another car in return) so retail value would be even higher. I see no reason why this new model should fare worse in that regard.
Since we are on the subject of pricing, this top of the line Platinum AWD trim level starts at $48,800. This gets you the non-hybrid V6 with mechanical AWD, Multi-Terrain Select w/Dial and Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 System (Pedestrian Detection, Full Speed Range Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, Lane Departure Alert w/ Steering Assist, Lane Tracing Assist, Automatic High Beams, Road Sign Assist, Blind Spot Warning, Bird’s Eye Camera etc.)
It also includes a Panoramic Sunroof, LED exterior lighting, the 20″ alloy wheels in a slightly darker than normal silver color with a temporary spare externally mounted under the cargo area, a Head-Up Display, the 1200 watt JBL Premium Audio System and everything else I mentioned previously.
There were only a few actual standalone options on this one, most of which were actually from the Accessories Catalog – The “Moon Dust” paint color adds $425, Carpeted Floor and Cargo Mats are $318, the Cargo Cross Bars (roof bars) are $350 and the Universal Tablet Holder visible on the back of the passenger seat for the benefit of a second row occupant is $99. Adding the Destination Charge of $1,120 totals up to $51,112.
It’s getting harder to remember a time without a Highlander on our roads, it is one of Toyota’s most important models here and of course also sold abroad in multiple markets. In Colorado specifically they are usually one of the top-selling vehicles. Easy to use, safe, fairly efficient (and especially so in its hybrid variant), and of course offering excellent value this latest one really should win some converts from those looking for “luxury” – really there is no downside to choosing this over the Lexus equivalent if the big “L” isn’t the most important thing. But if restrained and non-controversial styling is a positive along with everything else that Toyota represents then that makes this latest Highlander an even more obvious choice for many.
Thanks go to Toyota for providing us this Highlander along with a tank of gasoline in order to give it a whirl!
It is becoming a rare treat to see a new vehicle in this class that sticks with an old-fashioned (wow, this sounds funny to say) 3.5-ish V6 and traditional automatic. No cylinder deactivation, no small 4 with turbo, no CVT, just – – – what people in this class of vehicle want.
That resale is amazing. And I keep forgetting that these are built here. In my defense, I have spent my life in the northern and central parts of Indiana and Princeton is a lot closer to Kentucky than it is to me.
That’s a beautiful car, and one that would suit my needs very well if the towing capacity was a little higher (or in in the future when I don’t have towing needs). I agree with Jim that it has caught up to, and exceeded the Lexus RX at least in terms of cosmetic appeal. A much better interior, for sure. Surely we will see a new RX soon?
I think removing the opening rear window was a mistake. I use that all the time on the Suburban. On our last SUV-in-residence, the 2014 Grand Cherokee, the window did not open and it was a constant inconvenience when you want to carry something long, stow or retrieve something small, etc.
One feature that does perplex me are the buttons or dials for snow, mud, sand, etc. The Jeep had a dial, as did our 2011 LR4 I wrote up. The Suburban does not. I can’t tell any difference in how any of them drive in the snow. Maybe it’s more for show than anything else? 4Low is what you need when things really go south.
Funnily enough, the 2011-2013 Grand Cherokee did have lifting rear glass. Jeep removed it during the 2014 facelift. As the owner of a 2015 Grand Cherokee Overland, I am equally perplexed.
Magazine reviewers have slagged it in their typical way, but this Highlander looks like a thorough effort.
I like the old digital Toyota clocks, I wish their stockpile didn’t run out. Why? It’s visible immediately upon startup, so if you are on your way somewhere and want to know the time as you’re buckling up…there it is. They got rid of it in the 2015 Camry refresh, so ours doesn’t have it. It’s on the infotainment screen instead, which then must boot up before you can see it. I’ve found that far more annoying than I would have thought.
Toyota also must have depleted their cruise control stalk warehouses, which is unfortunate as well. That was a great interface. Being 30 years old was no reason to abandon it.
the torpedo bulges on the rear haunch look a little overdone and now will always look at the dash and see a guitar. but toyota does make great vehicles and this should be a fine vehicle to own.
For $51,000 it BETTER have a very attractive interior. Considering that the base model starts at $34,600 and has the same v6/automatic powertrain, I would find it pretty easy to give up the fancy interior and look at plain hard black plastic and scratchy black cloth to save almost $17K. No, the base model doesn’t include AWD but I live in Atlanta, where, curiously, AWD has become a must for many people (why?) Plus, when/if you go to trade the car in, the options depreciate even faster than the car so a base model Highlander will retain more of its initial value than the heavily optioned one.
If you can tolerate the styling on the Lexus, the RX350L starts at 48,600 and of course, being a Lexus, will retain more of its value than the Toyota, You can save about 6K by going certified pre owned on a 2019, which doesn’t seem worth it, or step down to a 2017 certified pre owned for about 35,000.
I just cannot see why anyone would pick a 51K toyota over the lexus equivalent, Well, the Lexus IS ugly, but then I’m not in the market for $51k of car anyway.
I believe you’re comparing a base model Lexus FWD with this fairly fully loaded Toyota with AWD. To actually create an even remotely fair comparison you’d need to compare that same Lexus with a lower level Highlander at which point its price point obviously decreases and hence the “equivalent” Lexus costs more. Same when you compare a new Toyota to a used Lexus, they also sell Toyotas used and those prices are less than new as well. An equivalently equipped Lexus costs more than this Highlander and is smaller inside, especially the third row, we just recently reviewed one here so I am very familiar with it and was actually quite smitten by it. That being said, as I think I clearly noted, it’s easily possibly to get most of the Lexus goodness at a lower price point here. A more comparable loaded Lexus RX is well over $60k, you’d perhaps be surprised at what the Lexus does not include as standard equipment.
I continue to be impressed how Toyota goes from strength to strength, improving their vehicles for their specific target market. As you say, they don’t chase Nurburgring lap times, but rather focus on what their customers really want. And that sounds like a recipe for success.
I know many of the readers have had no problem using all season tires in the snow belt. I like to alway have snow tires on vehicles my wife or children drive in the winter months. I’m sure that a few owners are going to be shocked at the prices of 20 inch tires and steel wheels.
I would imagine one could go with 18″ steel wheels in a size seen on the base models in lieu of 20″ units. Brakes are the same size regardless of trim, from what I could find, so as long as one maintains the same overall wheel/tire height there should not be an issue.
On ours we purchased a set of take-offs from another Highlander via Craigslist instead of steelies and then mounted the winter tires on those. Easy to swap twice a year and yes, vastly better performance in snow and ice conditions.
The drive mode switches are quite strange, a knob you twist to select between Mud/Sand and Rocks/Dirt, push to return to normal and then a completely separate button for Snow that is off by itself. I guess it could be that they offer the snow position on the FWD version?
It is a bummer that they have dropped the opening rear window. On our vehicles that have had that it probably is opened 10x as frequently as the entire hatch. Much more convenient for just tossing in small things. However the window seems to have shrunk so much that maybe they couldn’t make an opening they thought was large enough to worry about.
That is an interesting implementation of the stop/start system, sounds like it would work pretty good once you get used to just how hard to press to make it do what you want w/o the car prompting you.
Overall it does sound like a good value in today’s market, however like all Toyotas the Hybrid version would be the only one that I would consider. 35mpg vs 23mpg is a significant difference.
First, great review. I always enjoy your car reviews because I feel that you tell us what it’s like to have your test cars as regular cars, not just some random review who focuses on what a few enthusiasts want.
And second, I get really excited when I see you sold a car because I always love reading about what you’ve purchased and all of your C.O.A.L. posts!
Thank you! I’m currently still two behind on my COAL posts…Hopefully I can update those soon.
Looks like a great car and a great review, thank you!
I’m wondering if you or other readers have cross shopped the Highlander with its main competitor, the Honda Pilot? One thing the Pilot has over the Highlander is that the 3rd seat legroom is quite a bit roomier – up to 3-4 inches more. Has that been a consideration?
We did not cross shop against the Pilot at the time we selected our Highlander back in 2015. It may have had something to do with not being thrilled with the cylinder deactivation (it had some issues) on the Odyssey we had but mainly we preferred the styling of the Highlander. I believe we found the Pilot to be more “plasticky” inside as well but a lot of that is subjective.
Sizewise they are very similar, the older Pilot (the boxy one) was great in the third row due to the upright sides but I’d caution against looking just at the spec for legroom back there when comparing current ones especially with the sliding second row feature, depending on who is in the second row the third CAN be made roomier and that also depends on who is usually in the first row and how they may have their seat adjusted.
I compared the 2019 Honda Pilot with the 2019 Highlander when shopping for a midsize CUV last year and found the Pilot to be significantly roomier inside. Not only is it longer, but it’s also significantly wider, with about 3 inches more hip and shoulder room in all three rows. Still, no adult would want to ride in the third row seat for more than 30 minutes.
I found the Highlander to be sharper handling, in the typical Honda mold, with a busier, but not uncomfortable ride. In contrast, the Toyota had a really nice, well-controlled ride and handling was good, but steering feel was lacking; in some ways its slightly smaller size made it feel more nimble than the bigger Pilot. Both vehicles seemed to be equally quiet. Honda had better visibility, too, due to a lower beltline; that was important to me, as I really dislike the current styling trend of small, narrow windows and upswept lines reducing the size of rear windows, especially in relatively large vehicles like these CUVs.
The interior of the top of the line Highlander was definitely plusher (and the 2020 model reviewed here appears to take that to whole new level) while the Honda was more “business-like”. Features were very similar on comparably equipped cars, but at that time, only the Honda had Apple Car Play, a feature I really wanted.
The cylinder deactivation in the Honda was a non-issue for me, as I had a 2006 Pilot that went 170k miles with no problems. BTW, I was comparing FWD models, as I live in Texas and have no need for AWD.
In the end, I went with a Honda Passport, which is identical to the Pilot from the rear seat forward. I have no need for the third seat and the Passport’s slightly sportier character won me over.
Rather than the dashboard reminding me of a a guitar, the first thing that came to mind was the grille and chrome spear into the headlight of the LandCruiser.
Ah, gotcha, I’m rather old fashioned so I was expecting a Lexus version of the same car to be more fully equipped and therefore the price difference to be less when you factor in options. I’m a little surprised the Lexus isn’t bigger inside. Seems like a glaring flaw not to make it larger.
Lexus has the LX570 and the GX460, both of which are (much) larger already. The “L” version of the RX350 was added I believe just to address complaints about there not being a third row option whereas the Highlander has had it for a couple of generations now; the RX was lengthened to accommodate it and commands a premium for that option as well. However the third row is nothing to brag about and really only for VERY occasional use (by smaller people).
The current RX is also on the older platform, I expect it will be revised in the next couple to three years and then also move onto the TNGA platform, perhaps also increasing overall size a little. Here’s our review of the RX350L from earlier this year:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/new-car-review/curbside-review-2020-lexus-rx350l-awd-50-billion-realtors-cant-all-be-wrong/
Similarly, the GX’s third row is nothing to write home about, and–especially with the solid rear axle–is considerably more cramped than that of this Highlander. Also, unlike the Highlander, there’s no space behind the third row when it’s deployed. As a matter of fact, the GX is a bit shorter than the Highlander, and a surprising amount of its length is front overhang, added when they did the 2014 refresh.
I really appreciate your reviews — they’re a lot more useful than some of the “fluff” that I’ve read elsewhere.
Is it me, or have the windows gotten progressively smaller with every new generation of Highlander that Toyota rolls out?
The top of the line press car that you reviewed is nicely optioned to make this less obvious — it has a nice bright white interior and the panoramic sunroof. But in real life, many of the non-Platinum Highlanders that you’d find on a dealer lot don’t have sunroofs, and come equipped with black or dark grey interiors. I’ve ridden in several lower-end newer-model Highlanders and have found them to seem somewhat dreary and confining due to the small windows and dark interiors.
“Is it me, or have the windows gotten progressively smaller with every new generation of Highlander that Toyota rolls out?”
That’s broadly true of any car over the past 20ish years, at least for rear passengers: with each generation, the styling is more rakish, meaning the beltline gets a stitch higher and/or more sloped, the roofline gets a tad lower, and the C/D-pillar window shrinks. And the glass area outside doesn’t necessarily correspond to visibility inside either.
I call it the Receding Hair Line feature. Every few years, a given car’s windowline creeps just a little bit farther up to the top.
This would look so much better with the waistline dropped to the level of the door handles. And you’d have much improved visibility.
Toyota has become the GM of the 21st century. But it’s like the guys in styling are having a bet to see how ugly they can make their cars before people stop buying them. I’m so over this demented-stormtrooper styling.
+1!
Great review, and clearly a competent and in many ways appealing vehicle, but why does it have to be contrived visually, and bluntly pug ugly?
See Land Rover Discovery for more information.
Contrived like the off-center for no good reason rear license plate on the Discovery? 😀. Perhaps that’s the price you pay for 65% retained value after five years and zero trips to the mechanic besides oil changes along the way….
I like Land Rovers (well, the idea of them anyway) but I know which car I’d rather have my family in when crossing the desolate open spaces of this continent.
I’ll give you the Discovery number plate, as the exception that proves the rule…;-) Horses for courses, YMV etc
For my info is the 65% after 5 years by any means typical for something of this value typical of the US? Here in Europe we’d expect a non-premium brand to retain maybe 35-45% after 3 years, leading to many bargains on relatively lightly used vehicles.
Toyota does have good resale values in the US, however the Pandemic has seriously messed up used car pricing. There was a short period where the prices had collapsed, but now they are up significantly from their pre-pandemic levels.
The 65% is better than usual but Toyotas generally keep their value better than many other brands and especially the “premium” ones. I’d certainly expect at least 50% back from a popular Toyota CUV after five years and perhaps even better if selling privately.
The Highlander is an interesting case study — it’s become completely ubiquitous, tons of people love them and buy several in a row… yet I’ve never met anyone who’s annoyed by them. Looks like this current generation will continue that trend.
I find the enhanced start/stop feature interesting. I guess the theory is that having the engine stop & start constantly while in traffic is annoying, but it’s nice to have the ability to invoke the feature if you want to… like if you know you’ll be stopped for a minute or two. I’m curious, though, by doing that, was Toyota able to use the start/stop to achieve its EPA ratings, or is the stop/start feature just being offered as a convenience? Either way, seems like it’s a big improvement.
Thanks, Jim, for another excellent and thorough review. Your photography really shows the vehicle and the Colorado landscape to their best advantage.
The Highlander is a great vehicle and it sounds like Toyota has addressed the previous version’s few serious issues. The only downsides for me are the smaller windows and consequent reduction in visibility. Interesting to hear about the resale value of your 2016 XLE holding up so well. When shopping for a new CUV last year, I found a 2019 model with only 3k miles on a dealer lot. The asking price was actually far higher (by about 7%-8%) than what a brand new vehicle would sell for, and the new vehicle also qualified for 0.9% financing. Makes me wonder what the dealer was thinking…
Looking forward to your review of the 2.5 liter hybrid, both Highlander and Sienna.