There'll be four sport-utility vehicles and a 4-door pickup wearing the Toyota badge in Canada by the first-quarter of 2001, Toyota Canada has announced. Early next year, the Highlander will fit into the Toyota lineup between the carryover 4Runner and the revised-for-2001 RAV4. The previously announced full-sized Sequoia SUV and the compact Tacoma Double Cab pickup will be also be added late this year.
Highlander and RAV4 are alike in that they are both 5-seaters and both try to deliver car-like comfort and handling by using the unibody construction that is not well suited for traditional off-road endeavours. But Highlander is bigger and more powerful and more expensive than the RAV4.
"Changes to buyer expectations have created some exciting opportunities in the light truck and sport utility vehicle market." says Tony Wearing, vice-president of sales and marketing for Toyota Canada.
In all the key dimensions, Highlander is bigger than the newly enlarged RAV4: 4684 to 4196 mm in length, 2715 to 2489 mm wheelbase, and 1816 to 1735 mm in width. Both are 1679 mm high, which is plenty for any sport-ute.
Highlander is a mid-sized, 4-door liftback that's powered by a 3-litre, DOHC, 24-valve V6 that delivers 220 horsepower at 5800 rpm and 222 pound-feet of torque at 4400 rpm through a 4-speed automatic transmission.
"The all-new Highlander is the next logical extension of the strategic thinking that produced RAV4 in 1997," Wearing claims. "It targets those drivers who don't want to give up the comfort, handling, ride and price range of their mid-sized sedans in order to get the security, versatility and performance of an SUV."