More muscle
The old 3.3-liter V6 was ditched in favour of the venerable 3.5-liter unit that's found in many Toyota and Lexus products. With 55 more ponies, the Highlander gallops a lot faster than before. 0-100 km/h comes up in 8.5 seconds, on par with the Saturn Outlook and GMC Acadia.
But this engine can achieve miracles in terms of fuel consumption when it's not heavily sollicitated; we came back from the AJAC's Testfest with this Highlander, and arriving in Montreal, our average measured 10.0 L/100 km.
During this same trip, we also found that the ride was acceptable, if somewhat jittery at times. A big thank you to the Camry for donating its platform.
In general, and despite the increased dimensions, the Highlander remains easy to drive. It's relatively manoeuvrable, the steering is light without being lifeless, and outward visibility is good except out the back; a camera is standard equipment on all models except the base one; too bad the display screen is so tiny.
More presence
The previous Highlander wasn't a true beauty, and this new model isn't, either. However, its sheetmetal gives it more character, more presence. What's particularly noticeable is the fat fenders give the truck a more robust appearance, although it does look fatter.
Inside, the dashboard is more upscale compared to the old model's which reminded us of a Corolla's dash. Toyota thought that extra-huge buttons and knobs would be good, as if we were driving with boxing gloves on. The radio knobs are especially big, as if they were moulded with shooter glasses. Cheers!
As for equipment, even the base model has a lengthy list of standard features: telescopic wheel, A/C, CD/MP3 player with 6 speakers, keyless entry, cruise control, 17-inch alloys, heated mirrors, 7 airbags, and more.
The old 3.3-liter V6 was ditched in favour of the venerable 3.5-liter unit that's found in many Toyota and Lexus products. With 55 more ponies, the Highlander gallops a lot faster than before. 0-100 km/h comes up in 8.5 seconds, on par with the Saturn Outlook and GMC Acadia.
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| This engine provides 55 horsepower more than its predecessor while consuming 4% less fuel. |
But this engine can achieve miracles in terms of fuel consumption when it's not heavily sollicitated; we came back from the AJAC's Testfest with this Highlander, and arriving in Montreal, our average measured 10.0 L/100 km.
During this same trip, we also found that the ride was acceptable, if somewhat jittery at times. A big thank you to the Camry for donating its platform.
In general, and despite the increased dimensions, the Highlander remains easy to drive. It's relatively manoeuvrable, the steering is light without being lifeless, and outward visibility is good except out the back; a camera is standard equipment on all models except the base one; too bad the display screen is so tiny.
More presence
The previous Highlander wasn't a true beauty, and this new model isn't, either. However, its sheetmetal gives it more character, more presence. What's particularly noticeable is the fat fenders give the truck a more robust appearance, although it does look fatter.
Inside, the dashboard is more upscale compared to the old model's which reminded us of a Corolla's dash. Toyota thought that extra-huge buttons and knobs would be good, as if we were driving with boxing gloves on. The radio knobs are especially big, as if they were moulded with shooter glasses. Cheers!
As for equipment, even the base model has a lengthy list of standard features: telescopic wheel, A/C, CD/MP3 player with 6 speakers, keyless entry, cruise control, 17-inch alloys, heated mirrors, 7 airbags, and more.
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| The steering should be more communicative. |