With mirrors moved to the doors instead of the A-pillars, visibility out front is good, and an available camera-based rearview mirror offers unrestricted rearward views even when driving forward. 2020 Toyota Highlander | photo by Kelsey Mays Lower trim levels trade some soft-touch surfaces and contrast trim for flatter plastics, but their controls are sturdy and the cloth upholstery feels substantial. Areas your arms and knees touch are padded, and the split-level dashboard features low-gloss finishes and upscale, stitched coverings. Lush, Tech-Laden InteriorĬabin materials for the redesigned SUV improve on the third-gen Highlander, already among the higher-quality interiors in its class. None of this should come as a deal-breaker for SUV shoppers - our Challenge winner, the Palisade, exhibited largely the same characteristics - but those who want more driving fun might consider the Ford Explorer, Mazda CX-9 or Volkswagen Atlas, in that order. Hard corners induce plenty of body roll and tire squeal, and the torque-vectoring all-wheel drive on higher trim levels improves little of that. The Highlander steers with a light touch and vague feedback. Toyota officials say all trim and drivetrain variants have the same ride tuning I’d prefer better isolation across the board. ![]() Body motion stays in check during rapid elevation changes and undulating surfaces, but the suspension doesn’t filter out a lot of small imperfections. Shock absorption is generous regardless of wheel size - the Highlander comes with 18- or 20-inchers, both of which have relatively tall-sidewall tires - and wind and traffic noise at highway speeds are impressively low. ![]() Choose the Highlander’s driver-selectable Sport mode, and the transmission gains some much-needed decisiveness, but that comes at the expense of fuel efficiency. I’ve experienced plenty worse indecision - or outright lag - from other transmissions, but this is a recurring problem for Toyota’s eight-speed. It stumbles through multigear downshifts, pausing momentarily in an intermediary gear before settling into a final choice. Try to accelerate once you’re in motion, however, and the Highlander’s eight-speed automatic transmission kicks down with all the smoothness of Brexit. Saddled now with 100 to 200 pounds’ less curb weight, the 3.5-liter engine moves the SUV with sufficient, smooth-revving power. The redesigned Highlander sheds the prior generation’s base four-cylinder engine, so now Toyota’s stout dual-injection V-6 (295 horsepower, 263 pounds-feet of torque) from 2019 carries over in all non-hybrid trims. I’ll focus first on the non-hybrid variant, which goes on sale this month. If you’re interested in the Highlander Hybrid, scroll to the bottom of this review for my take. The closest was to be Ford’s new Explorer Hybrid, but the latter is so much costlier that it’s hard to fathom anyone cross-shopping the two. But space for people or luggage is not its forte - a historical weakness for the model that has improved only modestly in this fourth-generation overhaul.īy contrast, the Highlander Hybrid has impressive efficiency potential and no clear rival. ![]() My verdict: The redesigned Toyota Highlander boasts high-end technologies even among base models and, on higher trim levels, lavish cabin materials that go toe-to-toe with the poshest rivals. I evaluated L, XLE and Platinum trim levels for the Highlander, as well as two well-equipped examples of the related Highlander Hybrid, which comes in all but the L trim and newly offers front- as well as all-wheel drive. The Highlander comes in a new base L trim level as well as LE, XLE, Limited and Platinum. Related: 2020 Toyota Highlander: Well-Equipped But Whoa-Nelly Priced ( pays its own airfare and lodging at such automaker-sponsored events.) How does it compare? I took to Toyota’s media preview in San Antonio to find out. The all-new Hyundai Palisade came out on top, but Toyota couldn’t furnish a redesigned 2020 Highlander in time to compete. recently compared seven of them in our 2020 3-Row SUV Challenge, for which I served as one of three judges. Nearly every mass-market brand has at least one three-row SUV.
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