Toyota Highlander Pros and Cons: What To Know When Weighing Your Decision
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The Toyota Highlander is a popular SUV with three rows of seating and a mid-size crossover design for the ultimate drive. It’s been around since 2000 and continues to hold an excellent reputation. If you’re interested in this vehicle, it’s helpful to consider the features. You might wonder - what are the Toyota Highlander pros and cons?
If you’re interested in learning more about the pros and cons of the Toyota Highlander, you’re in the right place. The more you know about the features of this car, the easier it will be to determine if it’s worth the money or something to avoid. Read on to learn more about our favorite things about the Highlander and some items we don’t enjoy as much.
What We Love About the Toyota Highlander
It’s always valuable to look at the best things about a vehicle. Let’s discuss the excellent parts of the Toyota Highlander pros and cons.
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Above Average Handling
One top feature of the Toyota Highlander is that it has excellent handling. Most three-row SUVs are a struggle for the driver to control, but that doesn’t apply to the Toyota Highlander. Body roll and winding paths are nothing for the Toyota Highlander with the updated design since 2022.
In some models, you can invest in a torque-vectoring all-wheel drive system for even better stability on the road. Even without spending the money, you’ll still have an excellent grasp of the system. It’s quite the feat for Toyota’s prominent three-row SUV selection.
Powerful V6 Response
Next, the Highlander provides an excellent response in power from the V6 engine. The 2.4-liter turbocharged engine offers an incredible 265 horsepower and 310 lb-feet of torque. It’s easy to feel like you’re in a much smaller car with the speed from this three-row SUV selection.
The Toyota Highlander can go from 0-60 mph in 7.5 seconds - an incredible feat for a car of its size. This number makes the Toyota Highlander a competitor with the sleek Kia Telluride. It’s a speedy choice if you want more performance from your three-row SUV.
Standard Driver Aids
The Toyota Highlander is an excellent choice, offering plenty of standard driver aids. No matter which trim you invest in, you can count on assistance built in from Toyota with you in mind. The Toyota Safety Suite provides tons of benefits that will help anyone of any age feel confident behind the wheel.
A few common features include pre-collision systems, lane departure alerts, adaptive cruise control, and more. With plenty of alerts before anything gets out of control, driver aids are a big help.
Excellent Outward Visibility
It can be expensive to access outward visibility in a car. It often costs much more, which many can’t afford. The Toyota Highlander provides a wide glass windshield and thin pillars to ensure the person in the driver’s seat can see as much as possible. You can see everything when rounding a corner, which is rare for a large vehicle.
Even without the large windshield, plenty of driver’s aid features allow external visibility. From the optional blind-spot monitoring to the rear-view camera, the car is equipped with helpful features to provide you with multiple eyes on the road.
THE MOST RELIABLE YEAR FOR THE TOYOTA HIGHLANDER
Combined with Toyota’s legendary reputation for reliability and durability, it’s hard to be a Highlander skeptic. What if you want to buy a used Toyota Highlander? What year Toyota Highlander is most reliable?
Comfortable, Quiet Cabin
Finally, you will find a comfortable and quiet cabin every single time you set foot inside the Highlander. With the suspension, you can feel solidly on the highway while still having a smooth experience. It doesn’t feel like you’re out of control, but it won’t feel like too much.
No matter how fast you go on the highway, road and wind noise won’t make its way into the cabin. Also, the engine isn’t too loud. You’ll be able to hear everyone in the backseat without having to shout over the engine.
What We Don’t Like About the Toyota Highlander
Of course, you can’t discuss the good without the bad. Let’s go over the negatives of the Toyota Highlander pros and cons.
Squished Third-Row Seating
Unfortunately, as is the fault in many three-row SUVs, the third row of the Toyota Highlander is lacking. While there are nearly 42 inches of legroom in the front of the vehicle, the rear row is compacted down to 28 inches. The same goes for the hips - the first has 57 inches of room, while the back row only gets 45 inches.
This lack of room isn’t an issue if you never have people in the back. However, if you do, they’ll have to squeeze a little more than other vehicles. Small children, however, will have a great time in the third row.
Limited Cargo Space
Along with less room in the third row comes limited space in the cargo hold. With all three seats up, you only get 16 cubic feet of room in the back. Behind the second row, you have 48.4 cubic feet, and the space behind the first row includes 84.3 cubic feet.
If you need tons of room for cargo in the back of the car, it’s best to fold down the third row. Drivers must sacrifice a few seats to fit more things in the back of the vehicle.
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Bulky Movement
The Toyota Highlander does have excellent handling for a three-row SUV, but the movement is a little bulkier than other selections. If you ever have to take the machine through a compact parking lot, you’ll feel the strain of the vehicle.
Many people associate the feeling of driving a third-row vehicle with sitting in the captain’s seat of a boat. It might feel comforting to some, but far too much for those with minimal three-row car experience.
Should You Buy a Toyota Highlander?
We’ve gone over the Toyota Highlander pros and cons, so now it’s time to ask the ultimate question - should you buy the Toyota Highlander? Is it a better idea to invest elsewhere?
Altogether, the Toyota Highlander is an excellent three-row SUV. It’s a spectacular contender, even with a few flaws.
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