2020 Toyota Highlander | Refining The 3-Row SUV 

it's not posing as a crossover... It's NOT a crossover, no matter what anybody claims; it's a big SUV. I don't understand why people are using this term "crossover" for such a huge variety of vehicles these days. A Subaru Outback is more of a real "crossover". I have a hard time even seeing a RAV4 as a "crossover"; it's a smaller SUV, that's all.

Watch Alex's review on Kia Telluride and this review back to back, you'll notice quite different tone and mood, and the different keywords Alex repeats in each video, Alex is being kind to the Highlander here.

also it doesn't change over the time. Once you get used to it, you can find it the same in later model or even on the lexus

I agree

ya, me to.and right now rebuilding an 08 solstice gxp and thinking about changing out headlights but very confused as to which ones.

I really don't mind. Saw replacement LED DRL on Mazda Cx-5 failing at just over 36k, and rear LED taillights on GMC Yukon. 1,200 each for the Mazda. Yukon requires an entirely new assembly. These lights can be a major headache & ticket. I like the look and safety, but if these lights fail were really going to pay. These aren't even luxury cars, and I can imagine how much this auto-leveling headlight will cost to replace. It's easy to pop in an incandecent.

@@mcalebeb sounds like you've just had bad luck. I'll gladly take that risk for LED. Those incandescent bulbs look dated as hell.

Toyota is a VERY conservative company and slow to adopt what the rest of the world is doing.

gooniesnever saydie save costs

Thats a common complaint. Hopefully as well as Toyota listens to its customer base there could be a return to that feature in 2021.

Johnny Sunrocket car companies will add it back in but then remove something else or add the costs onto the vehicle you’ll purchase. They can’t cut into their own bottom line

Would you rather have a separate rear glass or a faster opening lift gate? Because of the separate glass people have complained that the lift gate opened way too slow

@@naveenthemachine I'd rather have the separate opening glass. The speed of the lift gate is a minor issue.

Except blind spot monitoring.

24:35 the base price is significantly higher than last year because it includes all of the standard safety features, the extra cost is there already built in

@@peachesandoreo I am aware of the price increased. But, it will cost more than this price if we want all of model's features on the previous models. Also, all the prices of the goods becomes more expensive than the previous years. How many groceries can you buy with $💯 in the past years and now?

Same as Ascent made in Indiana

James Russo James Russo

Thanks bro

I concur but the interior of this newer model is much nicer than the previous model.

I agree, cleaner simpler lines on the 19 model.

Justin Fontaine which car drove smoother: CC9 or Highlander?

If you need the pano roof it’s only on the platinum trim

Palisade and telluride are way bigger than this... This looks like 10 mins elder twin of rav 4

From a design perspective, this highlander is like a design student's term project: both exterior and interior are sloppy, lines don't lineup, symmetry off, or simply too busy and competing. It truly showed a lack of effort and deep consideration to the balance and aesthetic, and clearly the role of consumer advocate in this project is lacking. Look at the front end and hood, it's frowning, angry, sad, and gasping for air all at the same time. The interior door panel, rear exterior side panel, do you find yourself saying ahhh... nice curves, classic, luxurious, or perhaps muscular? Nope, the word you choose was "clean and nice". And you are absolutely correct, clean and nice was probably the best descriptive words, even Alex cannot muster better words in this video. Now Imagine being clean/nice is the major keywords to compete in this cut throat segment?! Average consumer won't pinpoint these lackluster design, or even notice the mismatch sun shade to window shape, awkward wheel bulge, busy hood line which dispates your sightlines instead of create a focal point, dash and center full of mismatch shapes, slope, recess ovals, half circle, square, rounded corner square, recess hole, protruding pieces, etc... what a mess of mismatched shapes and planes there. We consumers eyes does register these flaws, thus we Express it as not feeling it, ugly, don't look luxurious, etc. Etc. This is not Toyota being conservative, this is a critical project done poorly, design wise. Previous generation highlander was much more cohesive and better done.

David Chen hmm, interesting take. But I will say I still really like the design. Aside from the curve on the side, I think the car is cohesive and Lexus like. Personally it looks better than all the Lexus products.

Hate the swoop.

I like it too

DT is that why the Highlander sells nearly double what KIA and Hyundai (combined) do?

This is a nice looking car. I think Toyota has been doing some nice designs lately. Not as nice as Hyundai and Kia but even as a huge Hyundai fan, I've been weary of them due to the engine recalls. Hopefully they've gotten it together and this decade coming proves better for them compared to the early 2010s. Their mid-2000s cars from 2003-2010 were almost up there with Toyota in reliability. I've always had good experiences with Hyundai. My 2010 Elantra and my old 03 Sonata are up to Toyota levels of reliability and they look a lot better than Toyota's offerings from the same period.

Hyundai/Kia lead designer came from Audi. 🙂

There’s so many more important qualities a Toyota offers over anything from Hyundai and Kia. Things like quality, reliability, and good resale value. There is much more to a vehicle than styling and cool interior features.

This highlander is inferior to palisade and Telluride. Palisade and Telluride are sold almost 15,000 units per month. More if Hyundai-Kia can make them faster. Hyundai-Kia is going to drive this inferior vehicle out of business. Just like kia soul drove scion xb out of business.

Go for highlander if you are high

kiwilinkj I wouldn’t worry but at the same time battery replacement on a hybrid will be at least 10x the price of replacing a battery in the gasoline v6 model

Ziy Mohs yes. Standard across the board because all trims get the electric parking brake w brake hold

Don't do it. I have one, I am getting rid of it.

This highlander will outlast that ascent many times over. Have you seen the ascent off road review from TFL? The cvt transmission wouldn't let it go up a fairly simple incline, it just kept slipping... stuck!!! Sad for a subaru, considering this is what they are known for. Respectfully, good luck with yours

No rear USB ports, lot of cabin features that are standard on other vehicles are missing in a 50K highlander. That’s sad

yes, you can turn it off in one of the middle display menus

V6

What’s the usual environment?

@@brodiwheeler7583 are you stupid?

Yes

Just on the platinum trim unfortunately. L and LE trims will have a standard manual dim mirror. XLE and limited will have a frameless mirror identical to the last gen Highlander.

I agree with you 100% this is a butt ugly design but RAV4 even ten times worse

CX-9 is about to get a mid cycle refresh as it came out in 2016, you can buy a 2019 Highlander xle for under 35k. This is a new design for Highlander so there's no incentives.

In SoCal, my toyota dealership is selling 2019 Limited Highlander for $8k off MSRP.

It varies on the Toyota vehicle. Surprisingly my 2020 Camry v6 I bought we got like 6K off MSRP. After adding extra warranties and oil change it ended up being 3K off or so

Not really true I got 9k off of my 2019 highlander limited platinum fully loaded with no trade in. Great car by the way, for me I like most everything in it over the 2020 model except for no android auto and the lack of a selector switch for sports mode but I made due with my selector preset which is now only one press away from sport.

@@meteora767 I have both a 09 Lexus RX350 and a 2019 Highlander Limited Platinum and I will tell both are really reliable. Lexus is a Toyota and the luxury upgrade to the Highlander, both share certain parallels like their engine. Toyota mirrors their luxury Lexus brand to their Toyota brand vehicles most, not all, have a Toyota counterpart. My Lexus is at over 220,000 miles right now and the worst I had to do to it, other than normal maintenance, is a water pump.

Joseph Juguilon last version assembled in Kentucky

Marco Cordero And the Subaru Ascent looks like a total garbage can so...

jimmy_t I think it may be exclusive to the platinum trim regardless of drivetrain

I looked on the Toyota website. Both the Limited and the Platinum trims have a 100W outlet, but neither of them have the 1500W inverter. I’m wondering if that was a mistake. I also looked on the Highlander Hybrid page and it doesn’t even include info about the Platinum trim, but the Limited still has the 100W. I guess I’ll wait.

NoReally ComeOn The Highlander’s longevity, resale value, reliability and low cost of ownership are proven. The Ascent is a new model for Subaru with a new motor- unproven. Not to mention that there is no way that the transmission in the ascent will last as long as the Toyota. Plus the Turbo Motor in the Ascent will mean more repairs & maintenance in the long run. The only advantages that the Ascent has are maybe interior space & cupholders. Styling is of course subjective but I find the Ascent to be very boring and boxy with no personality. Good Luck with whatever you choose!

We still have a 2002 Highlander and we went with the Ascent. Drive both and pick the one that works best for you. We had to wait 2 years to get finally get Apple Carplay, but being taller, the loss of front legroom in this years model Highlander and the design of the front passenger seat just didn't work for us. We are far more comfortable in the Ascent.

@@wind7sailor What do you mean when you say the design of the front passenger seat just didn’t work for you?

@@Ryan2022 Being taller and moving the seat back in both, I have more leg room and the roof and door panel makes it easier getting in and out of the Ascent without hitting my head than the new Highlander.The Ascent works better for us.

@@wind7sailor gotcha. The ascent looks really nice.

We have had the 2021 Highlander Platinum for 4 days. I was surprised when it was delivered to our house that the hood had a prop rod but that’s Toyota for you they make fantastic vehicles overall but they do do things like that

You are right hundred percent majority people don't even use 3rd row seat it should be optional not standard now they shove down people's throats useless 3rd row seat

What reliability? Toyota comes with junk warranty of only 5 years. Hyundai-Kia comes with legendary 10 year 100,000 mile warranty. I would never buy a car that is not guaranteed to last 10 years. I don't buy junk.

Shawn Lee The difference with Toyota is that you wouldn’t even need to use the 100k warranty... these V6 Powertrains commonly last 300-400k miles with no major overhauls or replacement with just regular maintenance.

Fried rice over rissoto anyday

That never reached my leg anyways. That was useless

@@ziyamohs9221 It could have used more..but, it helped ! Seems like the driver seats keep getting shorter

I’m disappointed that the power passenger seat didn’t get extra adjustability. It’s still a 4 way power. Strangely the Camry in top trims offer a 8 way power passenger seat

My problem is the front passenger seat has been very uncomfortable due to the airbag which they have shoved inside.

Ziy Mohs on the seat?

esmarcin They do those when they have the vehicles for a full week. This is just a preview.

I read an article about the MDX and found it requires premium fuel, which in most places costs a lot more than regular.

Roger Smoot I pump 91 here in California and it’s what’s recommended. My only gripe is the user interface is pretty dated and nothing makes sense on how it is laid out.

Toyota owns 17% of Fuji Industries (Subaru)

Yes, it is a Minivan with more ground clearance.