Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Toyota Highlander questions

Anyone drive one? My daughter & son in law are needing a car. She was hit in Dallas and it totaled her 2015 Acura RDX. They can't afford a new car but are looking at the 2018-19 model years. They will be starting a family in the not to distant future and will need the extra space and back doors.
What do the campfire elders say? Any other recommendations?

Never owned one......

Some will chime in

Remember it's a 'Toyota'

Low maintenance/reliable/high resale

Link......a Utah example

https://cars.ksl.com/listing/7917687

Nice rigs but the backseat headroom is a little low for adults over 5'-10" for a long trip. My daughter has a redesigned 21. it is nice also.

Good rig... ANY TOYOTA...

The hybrid RAV4 we just got (2022) is better for our needs than the Highlander... and close on actual size/room.

$30k and about 43 mpg or so thus far.

The 2022 Sienna AWD hybrid was $35k or so. It is pushing 37 mpg.

I TRUST TOYOTA!

My wife is 5'-10 or 5'-11"...

I am 6'-5" and 240...

We both fit in any modern Toyota well.

Our youngest son just bought a 2019 Highlander. Not the best for milage of Toyotas about 19-20mpg. Next older son has a Toyota hybrid. Don't know what model not RAV4 but it gets fantastic milage.

Wife has one currently. Drove everything before buying - Highlander wins in that class.
At the time we bought I didn't consider the Hybrid - may pencil out now.

We have a 2014, the first year of the latest generation, with a little over 190,000 miles on it with a single issue, well one explained later. It has done as well or better than the 1998 4Runner we have with 249,000+ miles. Our next vehicle will be another Highlander.

With all of that said, the navigation system on ours sucks. It will take you absolutely the longest most time consuming way possible and they (Toyota) do not keep there date updated so points of interest may or may not be there. It is not just that the data is old and incomplete (as of the day we drove it off the lot) it is the logic they use in their program that appears to be at fault. I can travel from VA to MI, a 12 hour trip, and by following historic routes that have proven time effective we can reduce driving time by 1 1/2 hours over the duration of the trip. This is just one example.

They may have address this problem with late models but if not do what we do and use a Garmin or cell phone for navigation.

Good stuff all. Thank you.

We have an '18. We were looking at new XLE models when we found a demo at a dealership. It was a Limited Platinum with 7k miles for the same price as a new XLE. We grabbed it. We got a lot of extras that we wouldn't have bought on a new car. It has the 6 cyl.
We have 55k on it now. It's been getting 23 to 24 mpg. However, we took a trip a couple weeks ago and it got 27 so apparently it's now well broken in. This trip was the same one we've made several times before so it wasn't different elevations or terrain.
Don't pay extra for a sun roof. Those things are noisy. We never open it when going faster than about 50. It's nice on mountain roads, though. It also gets very hot on sunny days when it's open.
Ours came with 19" wheels. I bought extra wheels with studded snow tires. 19's are more expensive than the 18's found on other models.
We tow a small camp trailer that weighs about 3k fully loaded. It's rated for 5k and I think it would handle it nicely. It sure pulls this camper easily although the mileage sucks when towing. To pull much more than 3k, you'd probably need an equalizer hitch. We have a sway bar that keeps it nice and steady.
Ours has 3 rows of seats. The back ones are for kids only. The middle row is nice, lots of leg room unless the back row is in use. Ours also has a/c outlets for the middle row. They all lay flat and we've slept in it a couple times. It's cozy and has low headroom but comfortable once you get in. You need very narrow sleeping pads, though. Ours has a switch to keep the interior lights from coming on when someone gets out to pee at night.

My sister just bought a new '22 XLE. Right now used cars are stupid expensive. The new one cost several thousand LESS than an identical late model used one. The problem is that there are very few new ones on the lots. Theirs was in transit to the dealer when they bought it and they had to wait 2 weeks for it.

Overall, it's a great car if you can find and afford the one you like. They won't regret getting one.

Since 2017 ive only bought 4runners..... and lately it seems a new is only a smidgen more than a low mileage used.......just wondering if this rings true with highlander as well.....

The rav4 is a dam good vehicle especially with these gas prices, but not anywhere close ride wise to an MDX.....

They haven't improved the nav system on the '18's. It leaves a lot to be desired. I have a Garmin in my pickup that's a lot better. I checked the chip in ours and it has the latest version. I wouldn't pay extra for their nav system. You can plug your cell phone into it or get a standalone Garmin that will work better.
One thing it does do well is when you're approaching a freeway exit or other major junction where you need to turn off, it will open a side screen with a detailed map of which lane to be in. In heavy traffic it can be very helpful. When you have a series of turns, the voice directions will sometimes lag, not giving you time to react if you're too busy to watch the screen. We've missed a few turnoffs because of that. That gets aggravating.

I always buy the April auto ratings issue of Consumer Report and the Highlander always rates at or near their top of the list for an SUV. I seem to remember that the new ones are or will be a turbo charged 4 cylinder engine for better gas mileage. I'd opt for a late model 6 cylinder engine myself.

I’ve seen driveways in the country with signs that say something like “Your GPS is wrong. Please do not open gate and proceed. Please do not drive on our farm.”

BIL had one. A 2015. It had lots of electrical bugs. He sold it and bought a Suburban which he likes better. We’ve had two Toyotas. One, a Tacoma, was good til the wife rolled it the second had lots of electrical issues too. We had Tundras at a mining company I worked for. It’s about the toughest environment any vehicle can be in. They definitely didn’t hold up like domestic trucks did. I do really like the Tacoma though. Like most vehicles it depends on application, and a little bit of luck.

My wife and I are looking also at the Highlander. Please keep up with the comments as this is the last vehicle we will buy as we start retirement.

We have a AWD 17 LE with the V6 ( it’s the wife’s daily driver ) . Pros for us -
Super comfy - just did a vacation from upstate Ny to Virginia no complaints great ride.
Lots of room for luggage ( ours also came with roof racks )
AWD is great in the snow
So so for us -
The V6 lacks a bit in power , but we didn’t buy it for that but just be aware. A big plus for this engine though is it’s direct and port injected .
The wife thought the lane assist and adaptive cruise was cool at first , but now is not used .
We’ve had it about 2 yrs and it’s been super reliable.
She wanted a SUV and I didn’t want any thing with turbos so this was what we bought. Would I do it again, yep for what we want it fits us perfect .

We have two Highlanders. Mine is a 2008 Sport. 6-cyl, no nav system. It gets 20 mpg city and 23 on mountain highways. That drops to 16-19 when towing my boat - 19 if the roads are level. I have had only one maintenance issue with it: the Variable Valve controller went out after I'd owned it for six months. They have to pull and dissasemble the engine to get to that little booger - fortunately it is a pretty rare failure, the tech guy said. That was spendy. The only other expense was when I did a total 100,000-mile service. Oil and one set of tires has been it in the eight years I've owned it.

My wife has a 2020 Hybrid Platinum she bought new. It's our travel car because it goes 300+ miles on eight gallons of gas. It has every bell and whistle short of full self-driving. Nav system is great, better IMO than in her previous Lexus. It is also a lot quieter inside than mine.

If you don't tow your yacht or climb rock trails, a Highlander is perhaps the perfect family vehicle. Do consider a hybrid; Toyota is leagues ahead of everyone else with those in both the engine and battery technology.

A friend is on his second Highlander, and likes them a lot. I’m pretty large and would not want for long distance travel for me, not roomy enough.

Probably what info is NOT needed here... but as far as holding their value...

Some family friends had a 2015 they bought used... they paid $15K for it...

it got rear ended in Massachusetts, and was hit hard by a bigger vehicle... but the family survived with no injuries..

Their insurance company totaled it of course, but they were shocked when they got a check in the mail for $25K

They had driven it two years, and got $10K more than they paid for it... but the safety it provided for their family when it was hit, was priceless.
they had kids in it, who were buckled in.... but they didn't get hurt.. just shaken up...