Toyota has sold more than 3 million Highlanders since the introduction of the model in 2000, which was one of the first unibody medium-sized crossovers that came on the market. In 2005, the first Highlander became Toyota's first SUV to acquire a hybrid powertrain at a time when most other automakers were not touching on electrification of cars like the Prius. The current 4th generation Highlander has been in existence since 2019 and continues to be a global model, but in 2023 Toyota released a large Grand Highlander SUV with a focus on the United States.With more space and more advanced hybrid powertrain, the Grand Highlander has quickly become the better seller of two Toyota selling the Grand Highlander almost three times more in the United States last year than it did a normal Highlander.
That's why Toyota is getting more radical with the 5th generation Highlander just making its debut at the first drive event of the Bz Woodland and C-HR.The 2027. Highlander seems to be a solid entry into the 3-row EV field, which will only be offered with a fully electric powertrain and is still fairly sparse. Instead of the e-TNGA platform that underpins electric Toyota like the Bz and C-HR, Highlander Camry, RAV4 and Old Highlander Toyota to Lexus ES and TX and even Century SUVs, the new Highlander TNGA-K setup adds a number of enhancements to improve aerodynamics and reduce noise and vibration. If you want an all-wheel drive, Toyota matches the facelifted bZ (although the bZ Woodland has 375 horses) and the second Toyota's estimated cruising range on the rear axle ups total output to a healthy 338 hp and 323lb-ft drops to 270 miles.
Going for AWD Highlander also gets off-road drive mode and crawl control. If that's not enough, the 95.8kWh battery pack is optional in the xle AWD, standard in the limited, and only available in dual-motor setups. According to Toyota, both of these highlanders have a range of 320 miles. A 19-inch wheel with aero cap is standard, but you can get a limited in the 22s. The automaker has also not said what DC fast charging speeds the Highlander can handle perhaps the same 150kW as Toyota's other EVs but it has a NACS charging port and can reach 30% to 10% in about 80 minutes.Toyota has not even said whether that figure is the same for both battery packs.
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The Highlander is also the first Toyota in the U.S. with load-to-car capability. Its specifications aren't exactly exciting nor leading the segment, but the electric Highlander really looks great. In fact, I think that this is the most interesting design in the Toyota of an ordinary person for a long time. Compared to the outgoing internal combustion Highlander, the EV is 0.8 inches lower in height, 2.3 inches wider and 3.9 inches longer overall. The wheelbase extends by 7.9 inches, which makes the biggest difference for buyers. While the Grand Highlander is a few inches larger overall, the Highlander EV's wheelbase is 4 inches longer.
These fine-tuned dimensions, square-off wheel arches and blockier proportions go a long way to make the EV more interesting to look at than the old Highlander, but it has the signature front-end look of Toyota's recent hammerhead, with a nose and a small corner pod below to lay the headlights themselves. Cut and extend walking around to the Highlander's side, it starts to get weird, I think in a good way. The lower door has a chamfered section with angled fins that deviate from the lower cladding, and the flash door handle has a button-operated electronic latch, just like the new Lexus Suv. My favorite elements are the horizontal letter lines flowing into the thin wraparound taillights and the rear fender treatment.
It makes the Highlander look downright muscular. At the rear, the turn signal is housed in a triangular piece that signals the line of the tailgate and bumper.It's angular and more futuristic than any other new Toyota, but still handsome and pretty. It's weird inside successful, too. The dashboard has a multi-layered wing-like design with a more visual sense than Toyota's bZ (and certainly more than the old Highlander). You get a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster and a 14-inch touchscreen running Toyota's great new infotainment system, and below that is a column of some physical buttons that have a nice click on them. The tall center console has a pair of diagonal wireless charging pads bisected by some additional controls and a stocky shifter.The cup holder is quite large and there is a lot of storage space under the center armrest.
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The Highlander I started to poke around before revealing was obviously a pre-production model, so I made any build quality judgments my favorite detail led to the peak being capped off by metal details (and sheet memory controls for drivers). It is a design that feels very non-Toyota in a good sense. The Highlander EV has 15.9 cubic feet of cargo space, just one tenth of a cube less than the Highlander hybrid. Fold the second row flat and it grows to 45.6 cubic feet, some cubes less than the hybrid.Toyota does not give cargo figures with folded second row seats that do not go completely flat. They easily slide forward and backward, slide them forward and have dedicated buttons to fold the seatback.
In the 3rd row there are 1 pair of seats, and in almost all versions of the new Highlander, the 2nd row seat is the 1 pair of captain's chairs, while the 3rd row bench is available. With the captain's chair you get a console between the storage space and the cup holder. The floor is almost flat except for the slightly raised section in the 2nd row, which is easy to move back and the cabin generally seems very spacious and airy. Especially use the optional panoramic glass roof. It's easy for my 5'9" self to get in and out of the 3rd row, and the 2nd row chair looks comfortable. The driving position is also nice, and there is no strange gauge cluster and steering wheel settings used in the bz.
The paddle shifter is used to adjust the level of the regenerative brake. Opening the Highlander trim level in Xle means it gets as many features as standard. When you move to the limited, you get a ventilated front seat and heated 2nd row seat, head-up display, memory for side mirrors, rear sunshade, traffic jam assist, car line change, front cross traffic alert, advanced parking assist and 360 degree camera system. The 11-speaker JBL sound system is offered limited with XLE AWD and you can get a limit with two-tone paint and 22-inch wheels. I don't know how much the 2027 Highlander will cost, so if you're looking for a front-wheel drive XLE of $50,000-555,000. According to Toyota, Highlander will assemble the batteries at a plant in Georgetown, Kentucky, to produce a new $13.9 billion free of production facilities in North Carolina. The Electric Highlander is expected to launch in late 2026.
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