Highlander gets a taste of Lexus
Smooth new engine and transmission will make for sweet ride to the skifield, reports David Linklater.
Come ski season, there are some tourists in for a treat. Because the facelifted Toyota Highlander is now powered by a slick new V6 engine and eight-speed transmission sourced straight from Lexus.
Well, it’s easy to poke fun, isn’t it? But it’s a fact that rental sales are the key to the Highlander’s success. In the segment that Toyota New Zealand (TNZ) calls ‘‘medium soft’’ but you and I might think of as ‘‘surprisingly large seven-seat crossover’’, rental sales account for nearly a quarter of volume.
For Highlander alone, the rental share was more like 50 per cent in 2016. No doubt about it: Toyota’s American-made SUV is a firm favourite with the pay-by-the-day crowd. Throw in the high volume of other business/fleet sales in this segment (nearly half) and it’s clear that this is not really a vehicle for private buyers.
So maybe it’s a great way to slip a Lexus powertrain past the company accountant.
The new 3.5-litre engine is shared with the Lexus RX SUV and GS sedan. Compared with the previous Highlander, power has risen 17kw to 218kw and torque is up by 13Nm to 350Nm, yet fuel economy has improved by 10.4 per cent to 9.5 litres per 100km for 4WD models.
That’s impressive given that the vehicle is up to 35kg heavier and the engine is more powerful; put it down to technology like directinjection, the V6’s ability to run in an Atkinson-alike cycle at low speed and that eight-speed gearbox (it was six). Like the previous model, the new Highlander can still run on 91-octane fuel.
The model lineup is carried over: GX, GXL and Limited. All are 4WD, but you can also have the mid-grade GXL in 2WD.
The flagship-plus ZR Limited, which was aimed more at bigspending private buyers when it was launched back in 2014, has been dropped. TNZ says it’s because the increase in equipment levels for the new Highlander has made it redundant. But with the Limited expected to account for less than 10 per cent of the range’s sales this year, it’s not hard to see why the ZR version was shelved.
The entry GX has gained a colour multi-information display, emergency stop signal, trailer sway control (tow rating 2000kg) and a Power mode for the engine.
The volume-selling GXL adds power tailgate, satellite navigation with Suna traffic information and a larger eight-inch touch-screen.
The Limited has switched back from LED to halogen headlights, but compared with the previous model it picks up a 360-degree fourcamera system, rain-sensing wipers, rear cross-traffic alert and front parking sensors.
Curiously, the Limited is currently the only Highlander to adopt the so-called Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) package of autonomous braking, dynamic radar cruise control, lane departure alert and automatic high-beam.
TNZ has a stated aim of adopting this package across all new model ranges. The issue with Highlander, says TNZ, is simply that the American factory is not yet gearedup to equip the lower-grade righthand-drive models with TSS. It says it’s working on a solution.
Styling changes are small. There are new headlights with integrated LED running lights and a new grille design, with different finish for GX/ GXL and Limited: silver versus a painted-chrome look. The Limited also has extra chrome at the rear.
Toyota has fiddled with the wheel designs a bit, there’s a different ‘‘silver wood grain-look’’ trim insert for the Limited and that’s about it.
Drive the new model and it won’t feel immediately different from the old, which was already a smooth and refined operator.
We only spent a little time in the facelifted version, but after a few kays it became clear that it has taken those calming qualities to the next level.
The new V6 engine and eightratio gearbox are an impressively seamless combination and the Highlander is a pretty swift machine – at least in a straight line.
As always, it’s not a vehicle you throw down a winding road with enthusiasm, preferring Americanstyle comfort to cornering speed. And don’t go looking too hard for the new Power mode lest you become distracted: it’s not a button but rather a setting you have to delve into on a dashboard information display. Weird.
Prices are up across the board. The GX has risen $2000 to $63,490, the GXL $3000 to $70,490 (or $4k less for the only 2WD model in the range) and the flagship Limited has increased by $3500 to $81,490.