RELIABILITY AND MORE
If you value practicality and like to keep vehicles for a long time, this might be the one
For the Toyota Highlander, which begins its fourth generation with the 2020 model year, higher-end feature content niceties are not its standout. There are no ventilated second-row seats or third-row USB ports here. To get a seven-seat configuration with second-row captain’s chairs, you’ll have to go all the way to the top-of-the-line Platinum package we drove, which rings up at $56,215 as tested.
But if you value practicality — and you like to keep your vehicles for a long time — there are other factors that can’t be found on a spec sheet. Toyota’s reputation for reliability is a big one; so is the brand’s record of holding its value. And depending on how you use your three-row SUVS, that may be the factor that tips the scales in the Highlander’s favour.
Those who already own a Highlander and are considering replacing it with a new one will find the 2020 model drives in much the same manner they’re used to. The naturally aspirated 3.5-litre V6 produces 295 horsepower and 263 pound-feet of torque at 4,700 rpm. It doesn’t have that satisfying low-end punch that some turbocharged competitors have, but it delivers a solid amount of power through a pleasantly responsive throttle.
It does this with very good fuel efficiency figures for its size: Natural Resources Canada rates this configuration at 11.7 L/100 kilometres in city driving, 8.6 on the highway, and 10.3 combined. My real-world figure over a week was higher, at 12.7, but that was with a lot of suburban short-run errands. I’m confident it would perform better in more well-rounded use.
For those who consider responsiveness and fuel efficiency to be important factors, I’d expect the
Highlander Hybrid will perform much better on both counts. And Toyota’s warranties puts on its 2020 hybrids are stellar: eight years or 160,000 km for hybrid components, and 10 years/240,000 km for the battery.
The Highlander’s interior is quiet and the rear seats are comfortable with lots of headroom, although the seat cushions are low to the floor in the third row. The 454 L of cargo room behind the third row of seats, and 1,150 L behind the second row aren’t the highest figures in the class, but that space is more usable because all seat backs fold down to create a flat load floor.
There’s some new use of layering and colour that gives this update more visual appeal, including attractive polished wood inserts in the Platinum package. But the 12.3-inch touch screen is imposing. Some prospective owners might be pleased to hear that this is another feature that’s only available with the Platinum package; the standard display is an eightinch screen that’s closer to the one found in the outgoing Highlander. Apple Carplay and Android Auto are included either way. But the larger version does have a very large and clear rear-view camera with a panoramic view — which, again, is only available in Platinum models.
Other Platinum-only features include a head-up display, rain-sensing wipers, a digital rearview mirror (the kind that shows a projection from a rear-facing camera when your sightlines are blocked by cargo), reverse auto-tilting exterior mirrors (a feature I can’t stand and always turn off ), and the real shocker — heated second-row seats.
Heated front seats are standard, and ventilation comes in at the Limited grade, but heat for the second row is available at much lower price points in many competitors, and having to pony up this much for them here is hard to take. You’ll need to pay for Limited to get a heated steering wheel, too.
Not having power-folding thirdrow seats also stings a little. There is a wireless phone charger, though, which is nicely tucked away in the centre console where the phone can’t be a distraction to the driver. Unlike several competitors at this price point, the gauge cluster isn’t fully digital, though that’s a feature that falls in the nice-to-have category.
That said, Toyota was one of the first brands to make a suite of safety technologies standard equipment. Lane keep and lane-departure assist with road-edge detection and steering assist, collision mitigation with pedestrian and bicycle detection, dynamic radar cruise control, and automatic high beams are all included from the base model.
If you’re someone who is always ready to drop your money to have the latest gadget, this is probably not the car for you. But if you care more about a reputation for reliability and longevity than bells and whistles, those attributes make the Highlander as worthy of consideration as it ever was.