Toyota Highlander review

It’s the Highlander, one of the many crossovers in the Toyota lineup and, despite the name, is neither particularly Scottish nor immortal, though being a Toyota is close enough to the latter, we suppose. It comes as both a traditional combustion version and a hybrid, with a total of 22 models between them with various trim levels and either FWD or AWD capability.

The standard Highlander is powered by a 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that musters up 265hp and 310lb ft of torque while the hybrid houses a 2.5-liter engine married to two or three electric motors depending on if it's AWD or not. This version puts out a combined total of 243hp and a modest 175lb ft of engine torque.

Sounds like a barrel of laughs.

Y’know how other Toyotas have something unique about them? Like the 4Runner is the old-fashioned, rugged one while the Land Cruiser is the cool new outdoorsy ride? Even the Sequoia is “the big one", so what’s the Highlander? Charitably, it’s the baseline for the rest of a lineup cluttered by, in our opinion, a lot of redundant overlapping vehicle offerings, and that’s not even mentioning the Grand Highlander, the reskinned Lexus TX which at least has an okay-ish third row.

So it’s bad?

Nah, not really. If anything, the Highlander is quite competent at its job, we’re just cranky that there isn’t much more to it than that. Similar to its stablemate, the RAV4, it’s meant to be a daily workhorse, though with more of a family hauler purview. The RAV4 isn’t a particularly exciting vehicle to drive either, but the more affordable price and the efforts Toyota have put in to give it a sliver of personality make it a more appealing knockabout ride. The Highlander is a bit bigger and roomier than the RAV4, but one has to ask if that extra room is worth the extra bucks.

There’s a lot of RAV4 talk in this Highlander review.

There’s certainly a touch “why can’t you be more like your sibling” here, we admit, they’re just so close to each other in use case, with the RAV4 providing a bit more bang for your buck. With that established, the Highlander is a comfortable ride that doesn’t stretch itself beyond its means, and in the hybrid, makes fuel-ups a rare necessity. Though there are different drive modes for more aggressive drivetrain behaviour - we’re loathe to use the word “sporty” at all here - and for better fuel savings, switching between them doesn’t seem to make a difference either way, and are best ignored.

Having a place to be with a handful of people in tow is a breeze, though the third row space is best used for extended cargo room rather than for humans. The Toyota’s tech and safety features allow for peace of mind both in terms of avoiding problems and keeping the peace when it comes to entertainment and directions.

What would you get instead?

That’s a loaded question, but in terms of competition, the Highlander shares space with stuff like the Hyundai Santa Fe, which is a bit cheaper, provides more space and is sharper in the looks department. The same can be said about Honda’s Pilot and Kia Telluride. Frankly, you wouldn’t have to leave the Toyota lot at all to find better alternatives, RAV4 or otherwise.

The Toyota Highlander is a stalwart vehicle that tends to get lost in Toyota’s cluttered utility vehicle catalogue. In this context, it’s not the most affordable, capable, or luxurious, it’s simply the one in the middle, the jack of all trades that masters none. If it stands out at all, it’s because it's a long-running and familiar nameplate. Outside of this, the Highlander is a decent all-rounder with plenty of space that covers the basic needs. The real question is how much that space is worth to those shopping around for a family hauler.

The Highlander is competent at this job, but there isn’t much about it that’s compelling enough to earn your dollar, apart from the fact that it’s reasonably affordable. If that’s the driving factor, Toyota’s own RAV4 does much of the same for less, though it lacks the Highlander’s claustrophobic third row. Your milage may vary on whether or not that’s a good thing.

On the subject of miles, driving the Highlander is done without worry, and the hybrid version is great at stretching them out while quietly switching between gas and electric power without bother. All told, the Highlander is easy to use and to live with, it just happens to fall into dreaded “appliance” territory.