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...

Did they like the Acura RDX? If so maybe consider a used Honda Pilot, the more affordable cousin.

My wife has had three, we've had good luck with them, pretty good family vehicle.

I’m 6-3 280 and have lots of room .

Before we bought the Highlander in '19, we drove all of the similar cars of other brands. The only one that came up to the Highlander for handling and comfort was the Subaru Ascent. However, it was much more expensive because you had to pay extra for everything. With the same stuff as the Highlander, it cost a lot more. The Highlander has heavier springs so it's not as smooth riding as the Ascent but it will haul more weight.

Mine's 11 years old. I don't see any reason to change at this time.

I have a bunch of DUIs so I prefer my wife drive whenever possible. She loves her Highlander. It's a 2020 Limited:

We’re over 200k on my wife’s 2011 FWD V-6 Highlander. It’s been a champ. Super-tight interior components. Just a solid machine. Averages around 24-26mpg. We see them everywhere around here. We sold her previous Highlander at 200k miles and probably should have driven it further.

We have a '17 Highlander Platinum, and love it.

My wife has some physical challenges, so we need the room for a folding power chair and for oxygen equipment. RAV4 was too small for our needs.

On trips, we get about 28 MPG, 6 cylinder engine. It's a very comfortable ride. Coming back from Bear Lake last winter, we were navigating in heavy snow, and AWD was very helpful.

We like the bench middle seat rather than buckets. It allows 3 people in that row.

The rear third seat has never been used.

In my research, two makes of automobiles came to the top: Toyota and Honda. Nissan got ruled out because of poor reliability. We looked at others, but nothing beat the Highlander.

They are used for Taxis in NYC. There might not be a better built vehicle in its class.

2 problems with the Highlander...
Every make of car has an SUV that's almost identical. Unless you have a color that's very different than every other SUV in the Walmart parking lot, you'll have a hard time finding it every time you go to town. We were going to put a roof rack on ours but I needed the bars so I bought a pair of aftermarket bars that matched the color. We still haven't bought the rack, but we quickly found out that having those crossbars really helps to find the car in a busy lot. It's high enough so that it sticks up above most other cars.

It sits high which really helps with visibility. However, I'm 6' and I can just barely reach the center of the windshield to clean it. If you're shorter, you might need a stool. A squeegee will reach but if you need to wipe it with a rag, it's a long stretch.

My wife has resisted me putting a ham antenna on ours. Now I have a good reason!

On our second. A 2014. No problems except as stated before, the navigation sys sucks.

Ticket straight to 24hour Toyota Fanboy Hell!

We have a 2018 XLE Highlander, bought it new and now have 40k on it. Yes the GPS is lacking and I have no use for the sunroof but other than that we love it.

We recently purchased our second RDX. The first one was a 2011. It was a good car. The new one has a twin turbo 2 liter engine that makes 272 HP. It's a very solid feeling vehicle and can be ran on regular gas. It's AWD.

I've never owned a Highlander. But I trust anything made by Toyota or Honda. I'm a big fan of Acura products just because they're upscale Hondas and you can buy one for not much more than the comparable Honda and Toyota offerings.

An RDX can be had for about the same price as a comparable Highlander. For the same money, I think the RDX is a better value.

It's hard to go wrong with either of them, however.

I think they put out 290-300hp.

How fast you need this mother fugker to go? LOL

does it come with the dog on lap air bag? lol

Negative.

Dog safety isn't a big deal to us.

It was at this time on 9 July 2022 the world found out deflave and bristoe had something in common. Their love for Toyota vehicles..

The 6 is lacking in power? Just how hot do you need it? Ours will cruise lightly at 80 and if you need to pass in a hurry it'll hit 90 in seconds.

Compared to my 14 5.0 f150 and our 14 4 cylinder Camry se sport , yes it lacks some low end torque to get it going. You have to bring it into the rpm’s , it makes 295 hp but not till 6600 rpm and at 4560 lbs curb weight .But as I said we are very happy with it .

Glad it’s roomy for you. I’m 6’2”, 230. I rode/drove one 800 miles with gas stops only. That was all I could take. I do the same in my Silverado several times per year. It’s still a long trip but not as bad in a bigger vehicle.

800 miles and only gas stops is asking alot from any vehicle. We drove my 14 f150 to moose head lake in Maine from southern tier of Ny (675 miles) with only pee stops and gas , never again ..

I’ve driven 4 Runners for about 20 years. Before buying our latest vehicle, I test drove multiple Highlanders in the 2019-21 model years. To me and my wife, we both felt like we were driving mini-vans.

We bought a RAV4 and have not looked back. We now have the Rav and a 4Runner.

Domestic trucks? Toyota Tundras are more of a domestic truck than either a Ford or a GM. Toyotas are built here in the states, not in Mexico or Canada.

My wife drives a 2016 Highlander. It’s got 70,000 miles on it now. Bought it new. Absolutely no problems with it whatsoever. I’d like to get something newer for her but there’s no reason. We installed a hitch on the back solely for the purpose of using our hitch mount bile rack. It’s a wonderful vehicle.

Mackey

My wife has the almost exact same vehicle as your wife. It’s a 2012 Honda Ridgeline.

We have two. 2001 purchased in 2010 with 100k miles. Was wife’s everyday driver for the 7 years she was going to college. She bought a 2017 in 2019 with 30k miles when the transmission in the ‘01 started shifting funny at 240k miles.

The ‘01 is up to 260k miles. Is now my spare car, mobile garden shed, take the dogs to the vet, haul stuff I don’t want to get wet on a rainy day ride. Transmission still shifts funny. But, not an issue for me.

2012 Highlander, 205,000 miles and I plan on keeping it as town car for another year or two. Bullet proof

My wife has a 2015 Highlander with a V-6 . It has been a stellar vehicle. Plenty of power for what it was designed for. Other than regular oil changes. Never had a wrench on it and it just turned 100,000 miles. Still has original brake pads .

You guys that want more power must have some pretty high performance standards. The Mrs. has a 2020 Limited that she absolutely loves, when I drive it I have to be careful not to light up the tires when taking off from a stop, I guess the traction control takes a bit to kick in.

Wife is on her second, a 2016, 6 cyl with 101,000. Refused to trade it for a new one in 2019 she liked it so much. Great vehicle.

Go luck finding one on a lot. The wife and I are in need of a new vehicle. We keep going back and forth between the Rav4 and the Highlander. The Toyota dealers around here have neither on the lots. We hear you have to order them. That's all fine but it would be nice to sit in one to see if we like it before we buy it. My 2010 F150 has 187K on it and gets about 14-15 MPG, her 2010 Honda Odyssey has nearly 300K mile on it. Keeps on going but starting to give me the sinking feeling that expensive repairs are soon awaiting.

My mother in law has a Rav 4 . It rides like a wagon compared to the Highlander

Those Camry's do scoot but I don't think anyone could consider the newer Highlanders under powered.

You need a Temperpedic and a chauffeur.

LOL

Starting to understand the dislike for dogs.

Poor guy thinks ankle biting dust mops are actually dogs.
Instead of happy, barking, cats!😉

Thanks to all for your input. The kids were unable to get the Highlander purchased as the dealer was still a little too proud of it. They did end up finding a 2020 Mazda CX 9. Two years newer and less money.

The dealer here in Twin Falls, ID shows 20 new Highlanders on their lot, 15 gas and 5 hybrids. However, due to the nationwide shortage, they won't talk over the phone to people from other areas. My sister from Tacoma, WA called them about one. You have to show up in person and be ready to buy and drive it home. They won't hold one or sell it other than in person. They say they're giving priority to the locals. Otherwise they'd sell out in 2 days.
WILLS MOTORS, TWIN FALLS, ID

MADD

Mothers Against Deflave Driving

Shouldn't your daughter be in a car seat?

What I noticed is the dog gets to ride up front, which does not appear to be true of everyone in the vehicle.

As for the original topic, Toyotas rock, I suppose they must have built a dud model somewhere along the line but if they have, I’m not aware of it.

We were replacing our 2011 MDX last year and looked really hard at the Highlanders. We really liked them and all my Toyota Trucks have been bulletproof. What we learned is that the resale on Highlanders is ridiculously high. We ended up buying a 2017 Lexus RX-350 with 25,000 miles for the same price as a comparable Highlander Platinum and the RX is a LOT nicer. It also has gotten really good gas mileage, getting 26-27 mpg on road trips. Much better than our MDX.

The back seat optimizes my comfort and dogs aren’t allowed to make contact with Flave.

Wife had a Lexus RX 350, which she liked a lot. The problem was that the Lexus dealership is 50 miles away, and you have to use one for most things. When she started thinking about changing to a hybrid, I strongly suggested she look at a Highlander because the Toyota dealer is here in Ogden (and we are acquainted with the owner, besides.) It took her only one short test drive in the showroom Platinum grade Highlander to have her reaching for her checkbook.

Never drove one, none on the lots to test drive. I put a deposit on a red limited in march and still waiting on a allocation. Currently have a 2012 Tacoma, double cab, off road, that I bought new,

We looked briefly at a Highlander Hybrid when we were shopping 3 years ago. At the time, they were $10k more than the gas for the same trim. I doubt the better mileage would ever pay for that. That was before $6 gas, though. I don't know how many miles it would take to pay for the difference now.
Also, the hybrid towing capacity is only 3500 compared to 5k on our 6 cyl gas engine. We tow a small camp trailer with it.

Well, RC, I wouldn't buy a hybrid as a tow vehicle anyway. Even the gas Highlander is fairly limited in towing capacity. That isn't the car's design intent to begin with. It isn't a truck.

Whatever the pump price, a hybrid will cut your gas bill just about in half.

That's weird, I bought a 2020 in September/October of 2020 and the difference was $1500., availibility was better on hybrids and the sales people were hyping them. I wouldn't have bought a hybrid even if it cost less, although if it were to be driven 40,000 miles a year or more I'd consider it for the savings on fuel.