Just to clarify! We filmed this video before the 2021 Kia Sorento Hybrid was announced, which gets 37 MPG combined. It technically makes it the most fuel-efficient 3-row SUV, but the Kia isn’t available with AWD when you get the hybrid engine. Therefore, the Highlander Hybrid is still the most fuel efficient AWD 3-row SUV on the market!
POV: Great family car. Will seat up to 5 comfortably (in 8 seater variants), and the spare seats in the back will remain folded 99% of the time, offering a massive amount of cargo space. The only time you bring them up is if you happen to be carpooling the occasional grandparents or friends, in which case you are willing to make the slight sacrifice in the legroom at mid-row. When electric motor is charged, it has lots of power to spare, and can easily last 15-20 min at full power. When the motor begins depleting (such as in uphill), the 4 cylinder (CVT) takes over more, so it gets noisier as the CVT turns at higher revs. This is mostly fine though and nothing unbearable. It's more than enough power to get you through snow, mud conditions on some offroads, including some pretty challenging and bumpy ones, when heading on a small trail, or the occasional passing on highways. You won't go racing with it, rock climbing or anything extreme, but it's a great car to get your family from point A to point B wherever you want to go, while saving a good amount on gas mileage and offering a massive extended range without having to refuel as often. When road conditions get tricky such as in snow or mud, I turn from eco mode to regular or sport mode, and activate the trail mode with that as well. This leads the AWD to monitor the tires more frequently, and provides adequate spin where it needs to keep the car moving while combining the electric and CVT more often (whereas eco tries to avoid using CVT whenever possible). It also comes with all the latest safety features that make it one of the most reliable and safe vehicles to drive around. Its size is big, although Toyota found a way to keep it lower profile, leading to very accurate road handling. It feels more like driving a sedan than a full size SUV at times. On the highway, the adaptive cruise control with lane keeping feels like an amazing autopilot. It can technically keep centered without holding the wheel or pressing the gas at all, even during tight curves, but Toyota does ask you to keep your hands on the wheel every 20 seconds for safety reasons. The car will break all the way to a stop if needed, but it won't detect red lights when on cruise control. However, I have found myself leaving the wheel, turning back, fetching a drink or a snack from the mid row, and returning to the wheel to enjoy whatever burger/sandwich I grabbed when I don't have too much traffic in front. Probably not legal, but that's how much I trust it. I have zero regrets purchasing this vehicle, and can see myself keeping it for as long as it runs, or until I feel like I want to switch to something fully electric in the future. Currently, electric vehicles ranges vary pretty dramatically with weather conditions and charging times. With this hybrid, you get the best of both worlds. Regular refuel times, with extended range, lower emissions, and comfortable drive.
I’ve owned my 2022 Highlander Hybrid AWD with Platinum package a month and I’ve been getting 35-37 mpg in town and 35mpg on the highway. You have to know how to drive the Hybrid vehicles. You don’t accelerate heavily like you were doing in the video. Keep your MID display in eco mode(green) and slow down easy when coming to a stop. My mileage gets me over 600 miles to a tank of Shell gasoline(top tier) with its 17.1 gallon fuel cell. This is amazing for a vehicle that weighs 4,500 plus lbs. this vehicle also has two 1400 watt 120volt receptacles, adaptive headlamps that auto level depending on your load and activate steering controlled side lighting with color change to give you phenomenal night vision while avoiding blinding other drivers. An ECVT transmission that doesn’t hunt for gears and seemlessly accelerates quietly until and if you need extra power. Believe me when I say it’s not as loud as my 2021 Tacoma V6 or my other V6 direct injector vehicles during hard acceleration. The Highlander rides smooth, even on the 20 inch wheels and is road and wind quiet due to the special option acoustic glass and door and side panels. Oh, and no silly run/stop engine like the V6 models. Buy one. You’ll love it, pano moonroof and all.
Has Toyota updated the battery to lithium-ion for the 2021 model? Just as Lexus updated the ES300h from nickel hydride to lithium-ion last year. Wish Toyota would develop a PHEV Highlander just like the RAV4 Prime to compete with the upcoming Santa Fe and Sorento PHEVs.
The city mpg for the gas model shows 21 and the city mileage for the hybrid shows 36, so the reader posting about the 13 mpg better mileage for city driving was on the money (even 2 mpg better). Depending on what kind of driving is being done, the hybrid may or may or may not be the best choice in terms of cost pay back. And then there is the battery replacement cost after 5 (?) years to consider. I think Toyota Corporate’s philosophy about hybrid being the way forward makes sense. “Evolving” to full EV seems like a costly and long-term strategy to implement.
And the power from gas engine kicks in in a very unrefined manner very un toyota like. So I suggest waiting until it’s fully refined before buying reliability of course won’t be a problem.
The coarseness of that 4 cylinder is inexcusable. Also, the third row in Highlanders is still too small. Make the third row more spacious and refine that engine then we'll talk.
i have this car. I averaged 36mpg in the summer and around 34.5mpg so far in the winter. I dont floor it (cuz whats the point) but I don't drive like a grandpa either.
Probably will in the US as well. I definitely see more Highlanders than Tellurides and Palisades, and that’s not including the older Highlanders as I am aware Highlander has been around for far longer. My mother is currently on her second Highlander which is a 2015 and I know she plans on riding it til the wheels come off. I honestly don’t remember why she even traded on her 2009 Highlander. I think they may have caught my mom on a good day.
Toyota sold on average 220+K/year Highlanders in North America last 5 years. Telluride/Palisade haven't been around out that long -- they were just released in 2019 with limited 60K production capacity. They just need to ramp up their production to meet the insane demand.
@@tigerbiterhater : considering that many dealers in the US are still charging $5+K markup for Telluride, I don't think Kia Telluride owners are going to have problem with resale value.
@@tooltalk The Telluride is a gas guzzler though. It is rated at 21 mpg combined vs 34 mpg for the Highlander Hybrid. Not sure why Toyota even offers the V6. I bet a more powerful plug in hybrid and eventually a solid state EV replace the V6.
Nobody uses teh third row with the second row all the way back. I'd like to see a review where 2nd and 3rd row has same spacing, because that's what you would do in real life.
Agreed! I am always looking at these videos showing people getting in the 3rd row with the 2nd row all the way back. Just like in the real world, if someone is in the back seat of a car, you would adjust the front seat accordingly!
Toyota still rules the hybrid market and this is another great offering, the cvt transmission notwithstanding. Some may be disappointed with the 4 banger but can't argue with 35+ mpg!
I recently sold my 2013 Prius with 170,000 trouble free miles. It was my work car . I no longer drive 85 miles per day so I kept my Tacoma and sold the Prius. I loved it ! If they make a Tacoma prime in the future I'll be interested.
@Csab I have the same car in the same color. Got 36mpg all summer and 34.5mpg so far in the winter. Not driving like a grandpa, all i'm doing is not flooring it like an idiot.
door thunk? Really? That's all you have? This isn't the first Toyota review I have seen you in that you seem overly critical of them. wow....Kia is better? Really?
Yeah Imo if I were shopping between the two I’d take the sienna hands down unless I absolutely needed a panoramic roof, adaptive front lighting system, or the 12.3 in screen
@@ARB0204 people don’t need tight 3rd row space of Highlander, if you are gonna buy 3 row SUV, at least get one with decent 3rd row leg room, or else just get 2 row SUV.
I wish the fad for 20 inch wheels goes away some day, they are a downgrade from 18 inch wheels for an SUV, but you cannot get the luxury trim without the ridiculous 20 inch wheels. Why do we have to pay extra money for worse performance just to pander to a fad?
i had a 2016 Tacoma and it did the same whistle from the passenger side when above 70 mph and they didn't fixed the problem on mine, but in the 2020 tacoma they solved the problem with putting diffusers under the passanger mirror. Air tunnels on the arch under the mirrors creating that annoying whistle, i was told the same thing by the dealers just turn on the music and you will be fine, thing is that i rarely have my radio on in my car. Shitty answer. Thats why we need to drop the dealerships and have direct contact with car manufacturers so they get thw problems directly from us consumers and the market is true to demand not on sfatistics put out from dealership base in their sales goal.
Toyota and other auto makers need to make the apple CarPlay and android auto Standar on ALL the vehicles that come with wireless charging station. This chargers is useless if you want to use those features as you have to plug your phone. It takes nothing but a software upgrade as the hardware is already in the vehicles. Come on Toyota make it happen
I have a 2021 XLE Highlander Hybrid and get 40-47 mpg in combined city/highway from May through October. Once it gets cold, my mileage drops to 40 mpg. Great vehicle.
Decade or more old mild hybrid tech. Toyota continues to fool dumb suburban folks. Just wait to get a full EV late this year or next. This model will have awful resale.
@@naveenthemachine No mate, a modern hybrid is a plug-in lithium-ion battery, These are MORE than a decade old nickel sulfide battery - charged by the petrol engine and brake regen. Not worth a pinch of sheet compared to li-ion plug in on the Outlander for example which will give you a petrol free commute.
Basic math breakdown in savings to help you decide which is better. If you drive 14k miles a year at 2.50 a gallon of gas. The difference in gas is about 350-400 dollars a year. You would need to own the car for 3 years before earning the price difference. I went to purchase one and had the dealer write up their best offer for both, most dealers mark down the hybrid more than its full gas counterpart % wise. I was able to get the 2021 Highlander Plat hybrid with same options to 45950, where the gas 44900. That however is just for gas in savings, where it also saves on OIL CHANGES, and BRAKES over the full gas version. Other things to take in count, on average a hybrid will need brake pads 1/2 to 1/3 the amount of a gas car due to regenerative braking. Along with oil changes, most full gas are 5k full synthetic, where hybrids are typically 7500-10000. If you are a hard breaker I would suggest getting any hybrid... I went from 30k miles to 80-100k per pads... Went 150k miles on my 2012 prius before pads... The dealer replaced them on trade they still had over 5mm on them. I had a 2009 kia that ate pads every 30k prior. Car hard just over 150k miles also, 3 sets of rotors(2 front 1 rear) and 5 pad changes, total cost was over 3k in brakes alone of the 3 years of ownership. I have a 2017 KIA Optima hybrid currently, worse mistake going from a 2015 pruis to this, sure brakes are still good at 90k, but 2 major engine malfunctions, 1 where the engine had to be swapped, and 2 where I lost total RPM going 80mph in rush hour on a 6 lane highway... Scariest moment ever driving in my life and I DRIVE A TON... I will never buy another kia/hyundai again after how they treated me as a customer and build quality of the cars. Not to mention, every toyota i traded in had over 100k miles and i still got top dollar, I went to trade this POS in, noone will even give me 1/4 of what i paid... The devalue of kia/hyundai is trash.
I absolutely hate how these car companies don't give an option for bench seat in highest trim. Have they considered people need bench seat since they wanna haul more people
There is a video showing this model doing great in snow. Unlike some SUV's that aren't good in snow like the Tellluride/Palisade twins..Highlanders have always done great in it.
There definitely doing good in sales in my area.. There everywhere and no gender discrimination here but seeing mainly middle age females driving them. Might be there Target.
I love your honesty....and you work for Toyota. I always wanted to buy another Toyota but everytime I test drive one I was never impressed with interior looks and function. Will seriously consider the hybrid though
I just test drove the new hybrid this past weekend. I currently have the 2008 Highlander Hybrid Limited. The new 2.5L I4 Hybrid has noticeably less power and more engine vibration than the 3.3L V6 Hybrid. In the Platinum version the second row is only offered in the captains chair configuration, and the cup holders between the second row chairs make it inconvenient for a child to walk to the back between the chairs. If you have a child seat you won't be able to put it in the center spot and if you put it in the captain chair you won't be able to fold it forward to allow ingress to the third row. Also the seats are firmer and less comfortable. I was really hoping for more overall refinement but that was not the case. The third row seat is thinly cushioned, and is more of a timeout chair. Also, I really don't get why you need to have Sport/Normal/Eco mode for a CVT transmission. The fake "steps" in the transmission negates the efficiency benefit of a CVT. For those buying into the 29 to 35+ mpg you'll be disappointed. The batteries will degrade over time and get even worse in fuel economy. If you spreadsheet out the fuel cost assume you lose about 1 mpg every 2 years.
The hybrid will make up it's premium in a couple of years, definitely before the battery degrades. Even when it degrades you'll still get better fuel economy of the gas version. Only reason for gas version is when you need to haul a lot of people or tow. There hybrid makes it a lot more economical for people who may drive to work alone on weekdays but need to haul family around during weekends. Instead of living with a smaller compact crossover to save on gas during weekday and have family feel crammed during the weekend, you can get better fuel economy than an all gas compact and fit everyone during the weekend. If you are single, you aren't in the market for the highlander anyways, so you can go for something more performance oriented. So IMO for the targeted consumer, until bev are mainstream, the hybrid highlander actually makes sense!
The battery degradation shouldn't effect MPG, unless you are fully depleting the battery every time the battery engages for hybrid mode (which is highly unlikely). Even then, a 5 to 10% drop in battery performance would be mostly negligible in how it effects overall MPG. The biggest gains/benefits for hybrid (or any battery vehicle) is in city driving and starting acceleration. Once you are on the freeway the gas engine is nearly as efficient as battery and barely any battery power will be needed to maintain great MPG at highway speeds (within reason, not like 75+, but maybe 60mph+).
Size was and is my most concerning issue with the Highlander - it's noticeably smaller than the other vehicles in the class, and the 3rd row is very cramped. I'd love to see Toyota stretch it out 2 or 3 inches and put all that extra space in the 3rd row.
@@paulorr9262 Only if you're set on sticking with a Toyota. If you're ok moving to another brand, there's plenty of options within the same class (3 row unibody SUV) which offer more space, and that's the point of my original comment. The 3 row unibody SUV class of vehicles offer a great mix of space, utility, and economy. Moving to a larger body on frame SUV like the Sequoia means a potentially rougher ride and significantly worse fuel economy. The 3rd row in the highlander is seriously cramped, while others in the class offer adequate space.
It is a bit off even in 1080p... He had this (not noticing it in this one) bad habit of not focusing the camera when he does the "selfie-style" reviews. Watch the recent Volvo one - his camera is so out of focus it makes me feel like I need better glasses...
love my 2015 toyota hylander 300 hp 6 cylinder ( same engine as Tacoma) . Not one problem other then the heat seat switch and vibration noise from exhaust heat shield .
@kev j they aren’t junk. They have high quality materials, lots of tech and luxury, and they have new engines which are way more reliable than the old ones that were stalling and catching on fire. Come from the past into the future badge snob.
@kev j not so quick to judge without having all the numbers and experience. Why don't you go out test drive the Sorento Xline and Highlander Platinum? Your comment can be more valid.
the transmission is not a true CVT. it is a electric motor driven trans/diff. so there is no shifting. the engine increases RPM to produce increased voltage to the drive motor to increase speed assisted by the main battery
14:10 - I know, right?!? Purchased a 2020 Platinum AWD a few months back and that is something that I noticed!! The wind noise starts to become noticeable with the stereo down at around 50mph. Gets very noticeable and yes, even up to a "whistle" around 75mph. What gives, Toyota?!? Hopefully with you saying something, they may address the issue!!
This is AWD electronically controlled. Rear motor only engaged if slip detected. On a dry road it isn’t needed. I don’t think you are very technically inclined. You want a larger fuel tank, where would you expand the existing tank? You need to think before commenting.
You could’ve bought a lower trim that provides you with the captain seat in the second row and lowered the third row which provides you with more space in the trunk.
@@bradleyscarreviews i can’t buy a santa fe for the life of me. I did buy a highlander and rav4 so those products I can vouch for are always excellent!
I understand the move to the 4 cylinder hybrid, but I have the 2018 Highlander with the 3.5 litre engine. This v6 cruises at highway speeds and is quiet and does not appear to be working hard. But I get an average of 23.3 mpg in suburban and highway driving.
Just bought Hybrid Limited and waiting for delivery. Hope Toyota has ironed out some of the issues that people report. Have a 2017 gas and am hoping for more power. Vehicle super nice looking and luxurious interior.
I've owned my 2021 Toyota Highlander for almost 2 months with the mileage of 2.3K. However, the average mpg is only 32.7. I've never reached 36 even for small local trips only.
Give it a little bit more time. I have 2021 LE AWD, around 11,000 miles. I am averaging 35.8 miles per gallon. A full tanks gives me 620 miles combined.
@@nanust885 I posted this 7 months ago when I just owned the car for about 2 months. At the time, I chose normal rather EV option. Now I put EV all the time, regardless of driving conditions, and the average MPG has improved A LOT. It's about 36 or higher now. Thank you for your reply.
@@MrPiapple Are you sure that you own a Highlander Hybrid as well, not the gas version, correct? I live in NJ, too. My profile photo was taken at Mount Tammany.
The key to get the max mpg off take off is to be in EV mode until around 35-40 when the gas engine turns on, then press the pedal to get you up to speed quickly, then feather the gas pedal to maintain speed. I can tell the reviewer has a lead foot for sure.
For those considering buying either the V6 or the Hybrid version, you have to consider that we are entering a paradigm shift from aggressive driving to a more Eco-friendly mode of driving. If you are in an Eco-friendly frame of mind, the hybrid model is definitely the way to go unless you plan to tow close to 5000 lbs. I think the hybrid with a 2.5 l gas engine combined with the electric motors, especially with AWD, will do the job , not as quietly but almost entirely compared to the V6. Remember, the engine basically roars mostly when attempting aggressive acceleration on highway entry ramps or on passing, otherwise, which is most of the driving, the vehicle will be quieter. It is a quiet vehicle in the first place. The Toyota Highlander Hybrid has a fantastic balance of what a Mid-size SUV should be in these times of climate change and how we can do our part for the environment and for ourselves. Thanks for reading.
3 rd row is to small to use even for children.... so with other words: you have a big car and can only seat so many people, like in a Pontiac sunfire 2005 !!! And ladies and gentlemen, that’s ridiculous!!!
@@amdreym yes we’ve already taken road trip with 4 people and fully packed up the mountain. Don’t expect the CVT to sound good but otherwise no problem.
Can someone give me a straight answer.. does 2021 Highlander Hybrid Platinum comes with power folding side mirrors? I’ve looked at a number of videos and none of them mention this info. It’s kind of important in a vehicle imho. Especially with this price tag.
