- I tested a 2020 Toyota Highlander, priced at $44,498 for the well-appointed XLE trim level.
- The Highlander I sampled has a reasonably potent 296-horsepower V6 engine, decent seating for eight passengers, and ample cargo capacity with the third row of seats dropped.
- The Highlander is the classic "don't think about it" mid-size mass-market SUV.
- It won't have you jumping for joy, but it shouldn't keep you up at night worried about whether it will fail at its duties: delivering rock-solid reliability and family-friendly versatility.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
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Toyota has a reputation for being the brand you buy when you don't want to think about it too much. The company will sell you everything from a subcompact hatchback (Yaris) to a sports car (Supra) to a full-size pickup (Tundra) to a car that runs on hydrogen (Mirai). Toyota has done the brain work for you; all you have to do is show up and drive off.
That might sound ... a little depressing, especially if you see cars as emotional purchases. But the truth is that most people don't want to overthink their vehicle. They want it to start every single time it's cranked and provide them with hundreds of thousands of miles of worry-free motoring.
In this respect, the Highlander SUV is representative of what a fantastic job Toyota has done in its mission of building vehicles that work for everybody and make trouble for nobody. The mid-size crossover sits smack in the middle of the most important market in the US, bracketed by the compact RAV4 and the off-road optimized 4Runner and the full-size Sequoia. Sales have typically been robust: Toyota has sold well over 200,000 Highlanders in each of the past three years.
This SUV has been in the lineup since 2000, and the fourth generation was unveiled last year. I recently checked out a 2020 Highlander XLE, a step up from the base L and LE trims. The starting price was $41,200, and a brief list of options took the as-tested sticker to $44,498. (The cheapest Highlander is about $35,000, while the top-dog Platinum is almost $47,000, and there are hybrid choices in the range, all of which tack on a grand or so to their trim level's cost.)
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The Highlander isn't taking any chances in a tough segment
Competition in this segment is brutal. The Highlander jousts with the Honda Pilot, the Subaru Ascent, the VW Atlas, the Ford Explorer, the Jeep Grand Cherokee, and the wildly popular new Kia Telluride. Mass-market mid-size SUV customers are looking for seating capacity, cargo space, reliability, decent technology, and a reasonable price tag.
Toyota has traditionally not thrilled its partisans so much as reassured them. And the 2020 Highlander is a case in point: this crossover has been improved in all the right places, but, stacked up again the Pilot, the Ascent, or especially the Telluride, it lacks thrills.
By design, really. Because on the other hand, the overall experience of driving the Highlander around in its natural, suburban environment is one of reassurance, indeed. The only significant thought I had during the week Toyota loaned me the vehicle was, "Yep, this here is a good truck."
By never doing anything wrong, Toyota gets a lot right.
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An exterior that's attractive without calling attention to itself
For what it's worth, my attractive "Moon Dust" Highlander, with a "Graphite" interior, was built with pride in Indiana, making it an American-made SUV with a Japanese badge. The styling is consistent with what Toyota has been doing across its portfolio: enhancing the angles, sharpening the corners, and accentuating the folds in the sheet metal, without going too crazy.
Decades of studying Toyotas have given me the tendency to find them unexciting, but of late, there's been more jazz in the aesthetics. Older Highlanders are bland boxes that never broke down, while the 2020 version has added some visual attitude — and will probably never break down.
For example, the gently-sloping roof ends in a spoiler atop the hatch, and there are character lines that define the rear haunches. My tester had 18-inch alloy wheels, and they didn't really fill the arches, but they looked fairly sharp.
The LED headlights were very effective, punching through the darkness and offering automatic high beams.
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Inside, the Highlander combines comfort with seating capacity; my tester had three rows, and they were all pretty cushy without being plush. I didn't have the captain's chairs for the second row, but rather a bench, meaning that on paper, my SUV could handle eight occupants.
The fronts were heated, and the third row was predictably useless for grownups while diminishing cargo space (at 16 cubic feet, it isn't terrible, but drop the third row and you have 48 cubic feet — and drop the second row and you have a whopping 84). The liftgate in the tester was powered, something I always find helpful.
A good engine, a good transmission, and decent MPGs
Under the hood, the Highlander XLE has a 3.5-liter V6 engine, making 295 horsepower with 263 pound-feet of torque, all sent through an eight-speed automatic to the all-wheel-drive system (a less potent four-cylinder is also on the menu, as well as the hybrids). This is a rock-solid motor that yields good if not stunning fuel economy, at 20 mpg in the city, 27 mpg on the highway, and 23 mpg combined.
Speed isn't the Highlander's skill set (a zippier XSE trim is slated for next year). I observed a 0-60 mph time in the eight-second ballpark, but if you don't lay on the throttle, nine might be more realistic. However, the Highlander XLE, which weighs in at around 4,500 lbs., can tow 5,000. That's plenty for a small camper or trailer.
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Technology, but not state-of-the-art
I own two Toyotas, so I'm more than accustomed to the company's defiantly-not-industry-leading infotainment system. In the Highlander, it runs on an eight-inch central touchscreen, with additional buttons to swap menus. It gets the job done.
Bluetooth pairing is easy, GPS navigation is accurate (but you have to watch it with Toyota, as the mapping provides you with three routes and the quickest choice can be vexing), there are the usual USB ports from device connectivity, and my tester was outfitted with a wireless charge pad.
Apple CarPlay is available if you need a fallback from the in-house system, and my tester had a premium audio system that sounded pretty good, it not remarkable.
The SUVs can be outfitted with a host of driver-assist features, from adaptive cruise control with steering assist to lane-departure warnings and blind-spot alerts.
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There isn't much the Highlander can't handle, and that's why you buy it
After a week of driving the Highlander hither and yon, I ended up exactly where I thought I'd be: satisfied and, you guessed it, reassured.
I've literally never heard anyone enthuse over their Highlander, although I know more than a few folks who've been quietly enjoying the SUV for nearly a decade. I myself was tempted by a Highlander hybrid last year when I went Toyota shopping. (I ended up the RAV4 hybrid.)
Toyota sells a lot of Highlanders every year because there's nothing you can throw at this mid-size SUV it can't handle, apart from trying to squeeze adults into row three. It's just fine for running errands, just fine for Costco runs, just fine for taking kids to school or activities, just fine at hauling around a moderate amount of gear, just fine at towing stuff, just fine at taking road trips, and if you absolutely, positively need to get off the asphalt and deal with some unimproved terrain, you'll be OK in the Highlander.
Look, I know it isn't the coolest crossover on the market, and it isn't really fun to drive. Its sibling, the 4Runner, is a better choice if you intend to tackle the backwoods.
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But if I had to buy a mid-size crossover tomorrow and didn't want to think about it, I'd buy a Highlander. My heart wouldn't be racing, but I'd be able to sleep at night.
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