10 Reasons to Make the Highlander Your Toyota of Choice

What inspired your search for a Toyota Highlander for sale? Are you drawn to the practicality of its three-row layout, or do you appreciate its sophisticated styling and value-rich packaging? Whatever the answer, the Highlander’s appeal is well-founded. Here’s a closer look at how the Highlander has earned high honors as the top-selling three-row SUV for years and why it’s worthy of a spot in your garage.

#1 – A Stellar Reputation for Reliability: Toyota’s Calling Card

Toyota has been at the forefront of the automotive industry for decades, establishing its reputation around its ingenuity and dedication to building long-lasting and reliable models. This reputation permeates Toyota’s history and lineup, from long-running nameplates like the Camry to segment-leading SUVs like the Highlander. When it debuted in 2001, the Highlander made history as one of the first car-based SUVs, a unique combination that would eventually be known as the “crossover.” The Highlander helped establish the new crossover segment, offering a more luxurious alternative to the adventurous 4Runner and earning its place as the leading retail midsize SUV from 2016 to 2023.

#2 – A Worthwhile Investment: Toyota’s High Resale Value

Toyota’s outstanding reputation around the globe adds to the Highlander’s appeal as a used model. Why? Toyota models are well-known for their high resale values, with models seeing slower depreciation than other brands. Because of this, buying a Toyota SUV like the Highlander is a worthwhile investment that nearly guarantees more for your hard-earned money during your initial purchase and when it’s time to trade.

#3 – Outstanding Performance: Engaging and Responsive

Built on the same platform as the Camry, the Highlander turned heads in the new millennium by introducing drivers to a unique blend—the spaciousness and higher driving position of an SUV with car-like handling. Those attributes have never faltered over the years. Instead, Toyota continues to finetune the Highlander’s powertrains to improve the SUV’s responsiveness, efficiency, and agility in any situation.

One of the most recent updates to the Highlander’s performance occurred in 2023, with stricter emissions standards leading Toyota to discontinue the Highlander’s 3.5L V6 engine. Until then, the V6 set the benchmark for the Highlander’s performance, producing 295 hp and 263 lb-ft of torque. In 2023, Toyota exchanged the V6 for a 2.4L turbocharged inline-four that produces 265 hp and up to 310 lb-ft of torque. The higher torque output gives the Highlander more low-end power and heightened responsiveness while keeping the SUV emissions compliant.

#4 – Hybrid Capability: An Efficient Three-Row SUV

The Highlander’s gas powertrain sets an impressive benchmark, expertly balancing its output with efficiency. The 2023 Highlander, with its 2.4L turbocharged engine, gets an EPA-estimated 25 MPG combined in front-wheel drive models, making it wildly efficient for an SUV of its size. Yet, Toyota doesn’t stop there and ups the ante by offering the Highlander with a hybrid heartbeat.

Originally introduced in 2006, the Highlander Hybrid was updated in 2020 with a new 2.5L inline-four hybrid powertrain and an electronically controlled continuously variable transmission that ensures seamless gear changes and optimal efficiency. This combination produces 243 hp, making the Highlander Hybrid responsive at any speed. Moreover, the hybrid modestly sips fuel, with the 2020 model getting an EPA-estimated 36 MPG combined.

#5 – All-Season Confidence: Optional All-Wheel Drive

The Highlander’s popularity is also ingrained in its drivetrain, with Toyota offering drivers all-season confidence. Although the Highlander comes standard with front-wheel drive, the SUV is also available as an all-wheel drive model. Toyota’s all-wheel drive system continuously monitors the terrain and wheelspin to heighten traction in slippery conditions. Moreover, this all-season and all-terrain confidence doesn’t jeopardize the Highlander’s efficiency, with the 2020 Highlander Hybrid getting an EPA-estimated 35 MPG combined with all-wheel drive.

#6 – Spacious and Practical: Interior Features

As a midsize crossover, the Highlander handles like a sedan but offers the practicality of an SUV. Its interior is spacious, practical, and well-equipped, offering seating for up to eight passengers across three rows. Toyota’s keen attention to detail and success at blending form and function is apparent throughout the cabin, with impressive headroom and legroom across the second and third rows. Unlike rivals, the Highlander’s third row doesn’t feel cramped, and its wide body makes it spacious enough to accommodate multiple child car seats.

Cargo space is also plentiful, with models since the 2020 redesign offering up to 84.3 cu.ft. with the second and third rows folded. Keeping the second row upright yields 48.4 cu.ft., and there are 16 cu.ft. behind the third row. This is plenty of room for luggage, groceries, and other gear, heightening the Highlander’s versatility and broadening its appeal to everyone, from individuals and couples to growing families.

#7 – Digital Landscape: Connectivity Features

The Highlander’s popularity is intricately tied to its feature-rich packaging, which includes an impressive digital landscape that makes the cabin feel modern and sophisticated. In 2019, the Highlander’s digital landscape was limited to an eight-inch touchscreen, but Toyota extended that landscape in 2020 with an optional 12.3-inch touchscreen on higher trims. Fast forward a few years, and the 2023 Highlander offers panoramic displays that keep you connected, informed, engaged, and entertained.

The 2023 Highlander offers a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster that provides vital performance insights, from mileage and speed to navigational cues and safety alerts. The display seamlessly integrates with the Highlander’s eight-inch or 12.3-inch Toyota Audio Multimedia Touchscreen. The display provides seamless smartphone integration via wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, offers an immersive listening experience via a JBL Premium Audio system, and makes navigating new routes easy with the latest maps and real-time updates.

#8 – Peace of Mind: Advanced Safety and Driver-Assist Technologies

Toyota’s focus on driver safety is undeniable, from the Highlander’s high-strength build to its numerous active and passive safety features. Over the years, these features have grown exponentially to include more driver-assist technologies that improve situational awareness and mitigate the potential for collisions. These tools are part of Toyota Safety Sense (TSS), with TSS 2.5+ coming standard on every trim of the 2021 Highlander and newer models.

These technologies significantly impact your experience in the driver’s seat by serving as a virtual spotter to keep you safe and aware of your surroundings. The Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection continuously monitors ahead of the Highlander, alerting you to potential hazards and applying the brakes to avoid a collision or lessen the severity. Other technologies include Lane Departure Alert with Steering Assist, Lane Tracing Assist, and Full-Speed Range Dynamic Radar Cruise Control that actively adjusts the Highlander’s cruising speed based on traffic.

#9 – Functional Yet Agile: In-Town Maneuverability

The Highlander’s functional design defies expectations because, even though it’s a three-row SUV, it doesn’t handle like one. Instead, Toyota’s ingenuity shines because the Highlander responds more like a sedan despite sitting on a wheelbase that stretches north of 112 inches in newer models. Because of this, the Highlander is functional yet agile, offering drivers the best of both worlds across its three-row design that doesn’t make it cumbersome to maneuver in town or congested areas.

#10 – Staying Relevant: Consistently Updated and Competitively Priced

The Highlander’s appeal is multifaceted, from its functional design and feature-rich packaging to its engaging performance and efficient powertrain. Toyota has fueled this appeal by keeping the Highlander relevant with consistent updates and competitive pricing. The fourth-generation Highlander debuted in 2020, with yearly changes finetuning the SUV’s powertrain lineup and introducing more standard features. Despite having more features and technologies, the Highlander’s price tag remains competitive and offers the tangible value that drivers deserve.