Another Wannabe SUV? Well, at Least It’s a Toyota
It would be tempting to bash Toyota’s latest entry in the swelling wannabe-an-SUV category--just because the world probably doesn’t really need another sport-utility. The problem is, Toyota rarely makes anything that is bashable.
And the new 2001 Highlander is one more reason that this is the year Toyota probably will become the first import brand ever to capture a 10% share of the American passenger vehicle market.
But we can fault the Highlander for looking a lot like most of the other sport-utility and crossover-utility vehicles--or cute-utes--we’ve been blessed with in recent years. There are about 52 models now, and the number is climbing. Toyota seems to save its cutting-edge design efforts for special models such as the hybrid Prius and youth-oriented Echo and Celica.
As for whether the world really needs another SUV, the answer, of course, depends. If you are a Toyota fan, it sure does. If not, then the Highlander certainly doesn’t fill any great need, although with its Toyota pluses of quality, reliability and value, it certainly doesn’t hurt.
But we can’t fault the execution. The Highlander does exactly what it was designed to do.
The only real gripe left, then, is the name. We can take Toyota to task for calling this five-passenger relative of the upscale Lexus RX300 the Highlander.
Sean Connery in a kilt. That’s a Highlander.
Brawny. Grizzled.
Toyota’s version is more like Hugh Grant in a plaid skirt.
Pleasant to look at, extremely competent, but not really believable in the role.
So it is with the Highlander, which fits into Toyota’s growing family of trucks and truck-like products, bigger and more expensive than the RAV4 and the same size but less costly than the 4Runner.
Toyota in fact, promotes the mid-size Highlander as an alternative to its own tough truck-based 4Runner.
“Sometimes you feel like a truck, sometimes you don’t,” says Don Esmond, Toyota general manager. Most Highlander buyers, he says, will be families with young children. And most decisions to buy the Highlander instead of, say, a 4Runner or a Ford Escape, will be made by women.
The vehicle is a crossover, with a unitized body shaped like a truck and riding on a car-like suspension that cancels out a lot of the bouncy ride--and off-road ruggedness--that come with a true truck-based SUV.
Highlander might look like a sport-utility, Esmond acknowledges, but what it provides is “the image and versatility of an SUV with the ride and comfort of a car.”
Actually, the stylish interior provides a lot of versatility, and with the all-wheel-drive version, you get additional traction and better performance on loose, slick and slippery surfaces.
But the typical Highlander buyer won’t take it over anything rougher than the gravel road to the lake, and probably shouldn’t.
That’s because, like its close cousin in the Lexus line, the Highlander shares its power train and many of its suspension bits and pieces with the Camry, Toyota’s best-selling mid-size passenger car.
That is likely to present some shoppers with a bit of a dilemma.
While its interior echoes the RX300 and its top-of-the-line power plant is the same 220-horsepower V-6 that powers the Lexus SUV, the Highlander is slightly larger--thanks to the boxier body--with more cargo space and back-seat headroom, yet costs thousands less.
The base front-wheel-drive Highlander with 155-horsepower 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine starts at $23,995 including delivery and destination charges. The all-wheel-drive V-6 model begins at $26,975.
Gas mileage for the all-wheel V-6 model is EPA-rated at 18 miles per gallon in city driving and 22 mpg on the highway. The smaller engine with front drive is rated at 22 mpg city and 27 on the open road.
Toyota figures that in the first few months, at least 90% of buyers will be taking the V-6 and 50% will order the limited-edition options package--leather trim, alloy wheels, automatic climate control, keyless entry and a few other goodies--for an additional $3,495.
Standard features include air conditioning; anti-lock brakes; automatic door locks, six-speaker AM/FM-cassette-CD player stereo system; cruise control and tilt steering wheel.
A few neat touches inside include seats that lie flat to create a smooth cargo floor; rear seat backs with three tilt adjustments and easy-to-use single-lever rear seat latches. There are four water bottle holders, but only two cup holders--both up front.
Safety equipment includes dual front air bags, front seats designed to help reduce whiplash injury in rear-end collisions, and adjustable headrests and three-point seat belts for all five seating positions. Side-impact air bags are optional.
An optional tow package that boosts the V-6’s 2,000-pound hauling capacity to 3,500 pounds (and doubles the I-4’s capacity to 3,000 pounds) adds $160, which is a bargain for the additional cooling and electrical capacity its provides. But Toyota also charges for carpeted floor mats ($170) and for lots of other goodies, so it isn’t hard to get the price of the V-6 all-wheel-drive Highlander up to $34,000--just a few thousand short of a similarly equipped RX300.
So if nameplate envy drives you, or you like the RX300’s decidedly trendier looks, go for the Lexus.
But if your budget is pinched or you’d rather put your money into additional options--like skid control and traction control to augment the standard anti-lock braking system--the Highlander is probably a better buy.
From a driver’s perspective, the Highlander is a nice piece of machinery. It takes corners like a well-mannered sedan, gets you onto the freeway and up to speed with plenty of power to spare, shifts smoothly with its four-speed automatic (the only transmission available) and has big enough disc brakes on all four corners to stop quickly.
The ride is firmer that the RX300’s, but body lean still is noticeable on corners. The suspension setup--independent front and rear MacPherson struts--is the same as on the Lexus, but the Highlander comes with stiffer springs and shock absorbers and a heftier anti-sway bar. Both vehicles ride on 16-inch tires.
Ground clearance is nothing to brag about--at 7.3 inches maximum it is less than the 7.5 inches that Subaru claims for its Forester sport-ute and well under the 9.8 inches for Toyota’s other mid-size SUV, the 4Runner.
Final word: A classy addition to a crowded class of vehicles--the station wagons and minivans for folks who’d rather not be seen in same. Highlander will appeal to Toyota fans and could win a few converts.
Don’t expect any deals: Since launch in mid-January, Toyota has sold 15,600 Highlanders and is on track to hit its first-year goal of 70,000.
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Times staff writer John O’Dell covers the auto industry for Highway 1 and the Business section. He can be reached at john.odell@latimes.com.
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
2001 Toyota Highlander
Cost: Base front-wheel-drive 4-cylinder model, $23,995; all-wheel-drive V-6 model, $26,975. Price includes $480 destination and delivery.
Standard equipment: Includes dual front air bags; cloth seating with front buckets and 60/40-split rear bench with adjustable seat backs; power-adjustable driver’s seat; four-speed automatic transmission with snow mode; air conditioning and heating; key-less entry; six-speaker AM/FM stereo with cassette and CD player; anti-lock brakes; cruise control; adjustable steering wheel; 16-inch steel wheels; two power sockets; grocery bag hooks in cargo area.
Options: Include leather seating and premium stereo with eight-disc CD changer (V-6 only); power moon roof; heated side mirrors; eight-way power adjustable driver’s seat; alloy wheels; side impact air bags; traction control; skid control; tow package; daytime running lights.
Type: Front-engine, mid-size sport-utility wagon with seating for up to five.
Engines: 2.4-liter, 155-horsepower 4-cylinder or 3-liter, 220-horsepower V-6.
Cargo volume, rear seat up (seat down): 38.5 cubic feet (81.4 cubic feet).
Towing capacity: 4-cylinder maximum, 3,000 pounds; 6-cylinder maximum, 3,500 pounds.
Minimum ground clearance: 7.3 inches
Fuel consumption: 4-cylinder front-drive, 22 miles per gallon city, 27 mpg highway; V-6 all-wheel-drive, 18 mpg city, 22 mpg highway, as estimated by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Curb Weight: 4-cylinder front-drive, 3,485 pounds; all-wheel V-6, 3,880 pounds.
