Toyota has decided to bring the Highlander to Spain for the first time, an SUV that had never been sold in our market and designed for the North American market, where despite its 4.96 meters, it is considered a medium vehicle.
The key to the landing of the Highlander is to win customers, five hundred a year, in the E SUV segment. In this way, the Toyota Land Cruiser would stop acting as an SUV and 4×4 to focus on what it is, one of the few pure SUVs left on the market.
A vehicle that is sold in fleets to electrical companies, construction companies, or even in public tenders for the forestry and agricultural or road maintenance departments.
This is supported by the numbers. The volume of the E SUV segment is down 90% in the general SUVs where the Highlander is located. Its sales are divided into 54% of family SUV with seven seats and 46% of SUVs.
The Highlander will try to get those 500 customers in the SUV part, while the Land Cruiser has 43% of that 46% that is 4×4. Also, Toyota has set a target for 2022 of a 10% share of the total SUV market, when it already has the Yaris Cross in its range, ready by the end of the first quarter, and thus be present in all representative segments of the SUVs. Toyota closed 2020 with a 7.2% share in SUVs.
SUV style
Highlander is a vehicle with an SUV appearance, with 20 centimeters of ground clearance. It is based on the GA-K platform of the Toyota RAV-4 enlarged by 16 centimeters. Thus it reaches 4.96 mm in length, 36 centimeters more than the RAV-4; a height of 1.75 m, 7 centimeters more than the RAV-4 and the battle reaches 2.85 meters by 2.69 m. of the little brother.
Toyota introduces three rows of seats
as standard and the second is displaced longitudinally 18 centimeters. The trunk has a capacity of 268 liters with three raised rows that reach 332 liters to the ceiling. When you go with five seats you have 658 liters and 865 liters up to the ceiling and a depth of 113 centimeters.
The fact that it is a vehicle for families has made Toyota introduce elements such as the opening of the tailgate with the foot, an interior rear-view mirror with a digital camera in case all the rear seats are occupied and visibility is reduced or the central screen of the dashboard divided in two as Lexus models carry. It also features the Apple Car and Android auto systems and a JBL premium speaker set.
MechanicsThe Highlander features
the improved RAV-4 hybrid propulsion. The total power reaches 248 hp for the 222 of the RAV-4, thanks to the fact that the heat engine is 12 hp more powerful, up to 190 hp and, especially that the front electric motor reaches 134 kW for the 88 of the RAV-4. The rear electric motor is the same in both with 40 kW.
This allows the Highlander to be only two tenths slower
than the RAV-4 in achieving the 0 to 100 km / h that it does in 8.3 seconds. The Highlander will only be sold with this mechanical combination. There will be no plug-in hybrid drive option.
At the wheel started our dynamic route through the north of Madrid after the famous storm Filomena with a bad time. The driving position is low for such a large SUV and it tells you one that is not tall and that has not cost anything to enter. As for access to the third row, I do not know if Joe Biden would be as agile as he tries to make people understand with the little runs that occur in each public appearance.
We connect the phone the first time via Bluetooth,
The adjusted Head-Up Display indications look good and the screen functions have correct and easy usability. Toyota says it has made the Highlander more soundproof than the RAV-4.
We accelerate fully and verify that the typical sound of the hybrid engine when accelerating does not bother even if it is heard, of course. Ride comfort is very high, with soft suspensions that cushion uneven terrain.
We tested the Sport driving modes to see what the difference is to Comfort and there is no brutal change in the vehicle’s reactions. We have made an overtaking of 70 to 110 km / h on a conventional road, with a more than a correct response from the Highlander. We’ve also tested Adaptive Cruise Control with Lane Keeping.
The vehicle does not lurch to maintain lane and despite the rain and snow, the identification of the lane lines was very good. When we have not put our hands on the wheel for a minute, it alerts you to take control with visual and acoustic signals. We did not feel it necessary to test the anti-collision braking system that Toyota claims to include since there was not much traffic.
The all-wheel-drive route had 10 kilometers of track with snow, ice, and mud. We connect the Trail mode of the 4WD-i all-wheel drive and disconnect the stability control. And an important fact: the vehicle had winter tires. The Highlander with this system can send up to 1,300 Nm of torque to the rear axle and its 40 kW motor, which allows solving compromised situations. Despite sliding and getting out of the way to check the performance of the system
The all-wheel-drive route had 10 kilometers of track with snow, ice, and mud. We connect the Trail mode of the 4WD-i all-wheel drive and disconnect the stability control. And an important fact: the vehicle had winter tires.
The Highlander with this system can send up to 1,300 Nm of torque to the rear axle and its 40 kW motor, which allows solving compromised situations. Despite sliding and getting out of the way to check the performance of the system on virgin snow and clay terrain. We also wading across a 30-centimeter deep stream without any problems.
In fact, more than suffering we had a lot of fun because of the relative ease with which we passed the 10 kilometers sliding a lot on the ice sections. Equipment and prices Toyota Highlander is sold from 52,000 euros with the Advance finish that will account for 15% of sales,
while this finish with the panoramic roof costs 52,500 euros and will be 80% of sales. The remaining 5% will be from the Luxury finish that costs 62,900 euros. This finish is taxed at 9.75% on the Registration tax.
I am not forgetting consumption. The Highlander with the Advance finish and the 20-inch wheels certifies 7 liters and emissions of 158 gr/km of CO2, so it is taxed at 4.75%. During the test, consumption was not high.
After 112 kilometers of mixed route, highway, conventional road, urban sections, and tracks, without paying any attention to driving efficiency, the on-board computer averaged 8 liters.
