Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives What about a Highlander?

We looked at a new Highlander and 3rd row 4Runner in January. Wife liked them both but couldn’t decide. It was tuff for me, but opted for the 4Runner. As a Tacoma owner, I appreciated the familiarity in frame, powertrain, etc. we have since put 15K on it mostly road trips with our kids and dogs. The only complaint I have is the brakes feel spongy and it’s a PITA to change the oil.

Really liking Toyota. When my Tacoma dies Im going to look at a tundra as I miss a full size a bit for the ride and more room.

The 4Runner is a real SUV designed for off roading while the Highlander is more of a crossover designed for road use. You need to decide what you intend to use it for. If you need a part time hunting car, you want the 4Runner. If not, save a pile of money and go with the Highlander.

The worst part of the Highlander is the 3rd seat. But, we don't use the 3rd seat, so it didn't matter. The Honda Pilot has a better 3rd seat, the Buick Enclave an ever better 3rd seat.

The Highlander has a better dash and display than the others, IMO. And, we liked the ride, the way it drove and overall quality..

DF

We need the 3d seat for grandkids. The Highlander seats lay down smoother than a Pilot or some of the others with fewer gaps between them. If you want just cargo space, you need something else, like a van. Most of these aren't made to be vans. They're more of a compromise for cargo vs people.

Highlanders drive much more like a car, as compared to a 4Runner or other body-on-frame SUV. Two folks I know have bought them in the last few months, after looking at multiple offerings.

We use the 3rd row a few times a month, mainly for teenagers, and they always seem to fit fine. A 6'2" 220lb man is likely not going to have the best time back there, but for your typical medium-sized person, it's doable. We seldom hear complaints.

I need to put a hitch on our Highlander. The top pic is the Toyota brand hitch with the fancy plastic for over $500. The 2d pic is a Curt for $130. Not as fancy but just as usable. I can find a lot of uses for the other $400.

Beauty is as beauty does RC, but I sure prefer the look of the factory hitch package. You bought the Platinum and yours is a done deal without the hitch package. Kind of a travesty to hang an ugly thing off a Platinum though. That factory wired plug down by the hitch is sure a lot cleaner than that umbilical wire out the back. I keep vehicles a long time and the price of the factory hitch amortized over the life of the vehicle doesn't amount to much.

We got the Platinum because it was a dealer demo and it didn't have the tow package. If I'd bought new, I'd have got the XLE. When I add a hitch, the wiring will be mounted under the bumper, not hanging out the back. I have several small trailers with 7 blade RV type connectors so that's what I'll install. It won't be that flat 4 shown in the 1st photo. So, that will be hanging underneath next to the receiver.
My wife wants a small, 2 person camper to pull behind it so I might be adding a brake controller, too, and that'll require the RV plug. Since the light plug will be hanging underneath anyway, the receiver will look fine next to it.

We've put about 500 miles on it so far. This afternoon, I checked the fluids, etc for a trip to Boise tomorrow. This thing is made to be worked on. There's lots of room under the hood and most things are easy to get at. Even the back spark plugs are accessible, not always the case. The front O2 sensor is right behind the radiator. On my Pontiac van, you have to get under it and you need 2 elbows in your arm to get it out. The battery is right there, nothing on top of it, nothing else that has to be removed to get it out. Somebody used some common sense in designing it, unlike most of the big 3 cars.

The daughter just bought the Honda Pilot even though the Highlander was in the running. They thought that the Honda had more usable room and more headroom. I was reading up on AWD vehicles this morning and the word is they are hard on tires and only help in straight line slippery acceleration, get worse mileage and if anything are even worse than a FWD in cornering. The Subaru gets the highest AWD rating compared to the others. I've never owned an AWD and sure would prefer a conventional 4WD system like in the truck only in an SUV.

Which one is best for sleeping in? I don't enjoy tents and hotels are not usually conveniently located near where I want to hunt. Right now I have an F150 with a topper but it leaks in the rain and very noisy during a hailstorm.

Been thinking about the same myself. I just killed a nice buck in WY with my Tundra, and have been driving the Highlander while the truck gets fixed. The Highlander has decent ground clearance, and better MPG than my truck. Plenty good for archery season here, but the lack of tough tires is a concern here with volcanic rock. Might not be an issue where you hunt, but if I went this route I'd need to figure something out.

[quote=Rock Chuck]I need to put a hitch on our Highlander.

I installed An OEM Toyota on our 2012. I wouldn’t even think about an aftermarket. We paid about 300$. Compare the build quality, how it mounts, and the looks, it’s money well spent. The OEM is also higher than the aftermarket as you can see in the pic which is a plus.

And make sure your truck has the towing package, which means the wiring harness is already run and it has the second transmission cooler, etc.

For the last few years, Highlanders from the XLE on up have the tow package even if they don't have the factory hitch. The lights are plug and play. I'm not sure if there's a wiring connector under the dash for a brake controller. Some say yes, some say no.

We drove the new Subaru Ascent. It's probably the best driving of the bunch. However, it's stupid expensive. You have to buy the top of the line Touring to even get leather seats and GPS. It's about $48k. The lower grades give you a choice of black interior and fabric seats in black or white. Can you imagine what a white fabric seat will look like in 5 years? Only the Touring has a lot of other stuff that comes on mid levels in other brands.

+ it has a 4 cyl turbo. LOL..I wonder why they did away with their Flat 6

The problem with the OEM hitch is the light plug. I'd be using a 7 pole RV type. It will have to hang down under the bumper, like this flat 4 does in the top photo but bigger, and would be completely exposed. The aftermarket hitch gives it some protection. They mount the same way, 3 bolts on either side. The only difference is the OEM is through the bumper instead of below it. Any of them are rated for more than 5k which is the towing capacity.
Your '12 might have cost $300 but now the OEM is well over $400 plus installation if you don't DIY. DIY is very easy on any of them.

I think that Subaru made a marketing mistake by not offering a 6 in the Ascent. I have had a bad experience with a 4 cylinder turbo engine myself. It was fidgety fast, but when those turbo seals gave out, the white cloud of oil smoke behind the car sure changed your mind about what you were going to do that day.

The Subaru Ascent is rated to tow 5000lb, same as the Highlander but with 35 fewer horses. Sub has improved the CVT transmission and it drove great, but I wasn't towing anything. I'm very skeptical about that transmission with a load behind it. I suspect you'll get a lot RPM's but no go power.

Just purchased a Hybrid Rav4 and it is excellent...disconcerting when you turn it on an get the "ready" message with no motor noise.

Supposedly 4.7 litres per 100 kilometres.

I like it that much we will be leaving the diesel Hilux at home and travelling in the wife's Rav, as it is quieter, cheaper to run...and I get to passenger.