Just a random muse on life: who ever decided that big, luxury cars had to be from prestigious brands? Answer: ‘we the customers’ of course. Because nobody is going to pay a euroton for a limousine with an everyones logo on it. Just ask Volkswagen.
But lately we’ve seen a small shift, especially in the field of hefty SUVs: an area where the Range Rovers, Audis and Mercedes traditionally hold sway. Models such as the Kia Sorento and Hyundai Santa Fe are now striving for such cars, both in terms of size and equipment. Ford suddenly brought the huge seven-seater Explorer to our country last year.
And Toyota has had this Highlander in its range for some time now. While we thought that just about everyone in Europe was switching to compact crossovers, it apparently pays off for the mainstream brands to sell these giants here. What kind of contradictory trend is this?
The Toyota Highlander is big, but it doesn’t have a V6 or V8
We think there are two things going on. If we have to guess, families with many children are tired of cramming themselves into a dressy van, let alone a grubby MPV. They also want something tough with a little space. Second, seven-seat SUVs have been around for a while, of course, but they usually needed a V6 or V8 to get them going. There is therefore a reason that these cars now find their way to our economical market, and that reason is called hybrid.
The Toyota Highlander is a good example: the model already had several generations outside Europe, but now uses Toyota’s latest hybrid technology. And yes, that makes it particularly economical. Just to get straight to the point: during this test we drove more than 800 kilometers, of which a lot of highway and therefore quite little full-electric, and scored just under 1 in 15. A lump SUV of five meters long, with room for seven , which, without us having to make an effort, notes a consumption that was the norm for an average hatchback not so long ago? We’re pretty cool.
The Toyota Highlander’s CO2 emissions are relatively modest
Certainly in the Netherlands, this consumption figure has another advantage: the CO2 emissions, and therefore the purchase price, remain correspondingly low. The Toyota Highlander is available in our country from 59,995 euros (56,960 euros in Belgium) and even the Business Plus version driven by us, in which you will lack nothing in addition to a panoramic roof, does not exceed 73,000 euros (67 mille in Belgium for the Premium Plus). Yes, that is a lot of money, but at Audi you just have a plug-in Q5 with minimal options, so that half of your offspring will not fit.
The Toyota Highlander was primarily developed for the American market and it shows in everything from the styling to the size. The moment you grab the thick door handle, you realize that everything about this car is about a factor of 1.3 as large as what we normally find here. The door is more of a gate and gives you access to an oversized, diamond-stitched chair that you just don’t have to put a ladder against.
Once you sit down, you look out over a grand dashboard and a mighty hood and you feel like a granny in a church in terms of headroom. Of course, the second row of seats has the same generous benefits, but if the people at the very back have somewhat long legs, something has to be arranged. At most, you can fit a few weekend bags in the luggage compartment. The Highlander is huge, but it’s no Suburban either.
The Toyota Highlander’s infotainment system
The infotainment feels a bit old-fashioned and messy, with texts that change font size six times in one menu. But the navigation works fine and warns you with a loud Casio beep for speed cameras. The JBL stereo has many speakers, there is a nice wood print on the center console and the interior mirror is the kind that lets you look through the headrests through a camera. There are even flippers behind the wheel.
In addition to space and economy, silence is a major asset of the Highlander. As a non-plug-in, it regulates its own battery charge via the fuel engine and regeneration and drives itself electrically when it makes sense. Especially at low speeds you simply hear nothing. If you add the 2.5-litre four-cylinder, the auditory invasion of serenity is still modest – unless you ask for speed.
The 2.5 liter usually stays low in the revs
The stepless automatic transmission (which you can force into six pre-programmed ‘positions’ with the aforementioned flippers) lets the engine roar for a moment, but usually keeps it low in the revs, where it is most efficient and comfortable. You could in the past with this type of hybrids the transmission as a downside, now there is little more to argue. Especially if the result is such a low consumption.
The Toyota Highlander is not really fast, although you can easily keep up with a 0-to-100’je of about 8 seconds, if you have to. But most of the time you don’t have to and you are fine with rolling along calmly, flowing with the traffic and meandering calmly between lanes. The steering is quite direct and has no dead center, but there is no question of nervous behaviour: size and weight provide solid straight-line stability.
The screen shows what the powertrain is doing
On the screen between the counters you can see how the battery is always maintained, via the petrol engine, coasting or braking, and you can switch the countless safety systems on and off. For the lane assist, there is a large button on the steering wheel, which we appreciate. There are driving modes, but are you really waiting for a Sport mode in this car? And do you think it would corner like a little one, with its body taut horizontally on its axes? Please adjust your expectations.
If one car illustrates that sophisticated hybrid technology is currently the golden mean between fuel and electricity, it is this one. Compared to just a few years ago, the Toyota Highlander makes an efficiency improvement that you probably won’t find in any other segment, without sacrificing comfort or the practicalities that give it its usefulness. Brand sensitive might still choose a smaller, less well-equipped German for this money; but whoever needs space and does not want to pay for it at the pump every time, now knows where to go.
Specifications Toyota Highlander 2.5 Hybrid AWD Business Plus (2022)
engine
2,487 cc
four-cylinder hybrid
248 hp @ nb rpm
239 + 270 + 121 Nm
Drive
four wheels
CVT automatic
Performance
0-100 km/h in 8.3 sec
top 180 km/h
Consumption (average)
7.0 l/100 km
158 g/km CO2 (B label)
Dimensions
4,966 x 1,930 x 1,755mm (lxwxh)
2,850mm (wheelbase)
2,130 kg
65 l (petrol)
268 / 1,909 l (luggage)
Prices
€72,995 (NL)
€66,990 (B) – Premium Plus
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