Highlander just the car to ride out the storm

Julie Marshall takes Toyota’s largest SUV on a road trip to the coast

The Highlander is Toyota’s largest SUV. It seats seven and has a 2.5-litre petrol engine connected to a self-charging hybrid system.

This system improves fuel efficiency by topping up a battery with energy when the vehicle slows down. This in turn powers an electric motor.

Highlander was first launched in 2021 and Toyota claim it has the longest load space in its class with up to 1,909 litres of boot capacity

The test drive coincided fortuitously with our annual ‘girls’ weekend away to the Yorkshire coast during one of the atoms last month.

There was some doubt whether the trip could go ahead, so bad was the forecast, but I reasoned that the Highlander’s all-wheeldrive system would get us out of any trouble if the going got too tough.

The only scary moment was driving along the M62 when even the fully-laden Highlander took a buffeting from the gales.

The Highlander is large – almost five metres long – and it easily swallowed all the kit and caboodle the six of us needed for a weekend holed up in a cottage in a storm.

Full disclosure though, two members of the party travelled independently. The plan was to use the Highlander if we all wanted to go out together once we’d made camp.

In reality, we didn’t move more than a couple of miles during the three days and parked the Highlander up outside the cottage.

There are just two trim levels, Excel and Excel Premium with only a small list of dealer add-ons.

If you fire up the engine and pull away slowly the Highlander works on electric power alone – great for a stealthy getaway. It doesn’t last long though and the petrol engine will soon kick in.

Acceleration is brisk. The benchmark 0-62mph can be achieved in 8.3 seconds though there is some noise from the engine until you hit cruising speed.

The 20in alloys did deliver quite a bit of road noise into the cabin which was intrusive at times.

The suspension is comfortable, even when fully laden. Our backseat passengers commented as to how enjoyseat able the experience was with body roll kept to a minimum. The second row of seats get lots of leg and headroom too.

The driver should find it easy to get comfortable with a that adjusts electronically and a high-riding position that adds to a feeling of security.

All-round visibility is good with large windows and slim pillars. Our Excel model came with front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera that gave a clear picture.

The interior is functional and it is fitted with plenty of equipment including a sat-nav, smartphone compatibility and wireless phone charging. The touchscreen is supplemented with enough buttons to make functions intuitive while on the go.

Storage is plentiful and easily accessible and the five USB ports – two in the front and two in the rear, added a nice touch.

The third row of seats are easily accessed and are comfortable enough for children or adults for short journeys.