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A new product in Toyota’s line-up, the Highlander is a large seven seater SUV with a petrol hybrid powertrain. Sharing a platform with the Camry, it is more road-focused than the similarly sized diesel-only Land Cruiser.

It’s also a worthwhile exercise in demonstrating that hybrid technology can work successfully on even a heavy SUV weighing in at over 2 tonnes. Over nearly 1,000 km driving - admittedly, mostly on longer cross-country journeys, we averaged a quite impressive fuel consumption figure of 6.7 l/100km

(42mpg), a figure that we suspect would be hard to achieve in a similarly sized diesel SUV.

Looks wise, the rear is pretty conventional (read bland), but things are a bit more interesting at the front with styling cues from the RAV4. From the side it’s well proportioned, especially with 20 inch rims as found on our test vehicle in Platinum spec.

The Highlander offers all-wheel drive capability courtesy of two electric motors. Up front a 134kW (182bhp) electric motor is matched to Toyota’s 2.5 litre petrol engine which produces up to 190bhp. Completely separate at the back axle is a smaller 40kW (54bhp) electric motor. The amount of power going to the front or back varies depending on need, with up to 80% from the rear or 100% from the front possible.

Matched to an electronically controlled CVT gearbox, the system is quiet and refined, with only hard acceleration revealing a slight harshness of engine note. Performance is plenty brisk without being astonishing.

Handling is better than you might expect from a large SUV. While having no aspirations towards being sporty, there’s noticeably less body roll than on a vehicle like the Land Cruiser, and the steering offers reasonable feel about what is going on at the wheels. The driving seat provides a commanding view of the outside terrain with good all-round visibility.

Driving modes available are Normal, Eco and Sport, with Normal the default setting. There’s also a Trail button for off-road driving and an EV button to run the car on electric power, battery charge levels permitting.

As a passenger lugging vehicle, the Highlander does a better job than many SUVs. The front two rows offer decent head and legroom and even the third row seats can accommodate full size adults reasonably comfortably. The second row seats slide back and forth and tilt forward, making access into the third row relatively easy. Notable too is the boot space on offer with the third row seats up - while 332 litres isn’t humungous, it’s a lot more than most cars of this type offer. Drop that third road and the load volume extends to 865 litres, while up to 1,989 litres is available with all rear seats down.

The interior is well finished with good quality materials and plenty of equipment and toys. With prices starting from €71,305 and our range-topping Platinum test car priced from €83,330, the Highlander is going head to head with some premium rivals, but anyone looking beyond badge snobbery won’t feel they have an inferior product. Yes, some of the buttons, controls and screens are the same as those found on Toyota’s cheaper models, but they’re all solidly built and work well. Thankfully most of the key controls are operated by physical buttons and those in the

interface systems are easy to find.

This was a car that impressed me during my week with it. For a big car it handles well, it is fuel efficient, is generously specced, and refinement is at a high level. It is also arguably one of the most practical seven seater SUVs currently on sale. A worthy addition to the Toyota family.

Toyota Highlander brings hybrid power to seven seater market

SPEc chEcK toyota highlander Platinum

Text & Photos: Cathal Doyle – cathal@fleet.ie

Price Prices from Engine Electric motors

System Maximum Power Maximum torque

€83,330 €71,305 2.5 litre normally aspirated petrol 134kW at fromt 40kW at rear 248 bhp Petrol engine: 238Nm Front electric motor: 270Nm Rear electric motor: 121Nm 0-100 km/h 8.3 seconds fuel economy (wLtP cycle) 7.1 l/100km