The factory distributors have been taking very good care of me with excellent all-wheel drive SUVs during these nasty winter months. The latest Toyota 2023 Highlander has been a stellar performer. No slips, or slides, on the Bridgestone all-weather tires.
The Highlander has a “snow” function control along with three drive modes, eco, normal and sport. I rotated through all three depending upon road conditions, sport isn’t a good idea on slick highways, better to use less power in the eco mode. Overall, I found the normal mode very adequate in power and fuel economy.
Gasoline prices spiked over $4.00 this week making fuel economy a primary concern for most motorists. I filled up at a Kum & Go with the price at $4.17 a gallon, the tab was over $50. The Highlander has a 2.4L turbo/4-cylinder engine delivering 265 horsepower with an eight-speed versatile transmission. I found the mid-size SUV spirited and the transmission works perfect when using gear choices. Fuel economy rated 28 miles on the highway and 21 for city driving. Very good for an SUV that can haul eight passengers with three rows of seating.
What I liked the best was the feeling of security, power, and control. The icy highways and blowing snow were a breeze and this feeling of security is hard to beat in nasty winter weather that has been very prevalent this year.
The Highlander has all of the Safety Sense 2.5 features and the Star Safety System monitors cross traffic, forward radar cruise settings, pre-collision protection, and lane safety alerts along with pedestrian warnings. With all of the safety features the Highlander scores a perfect five-star safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
I like to review cars before looking at the price. I was pleasantly surprised to see this Highlander with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $48,625 fully equipped and loaded with options.
The styling is modern with comfortable seating in a spacious cab with a sunroof overhead. The exterior “Green Mica” paint is very attractive. Consumer reports score this vehicle very high.
This is one of the best vehicles tested in price and performance.