The Toyota Highlander was all-new for 2014, so it moves into 2015 relatively unchanged. The Highlander is an upper-mid-size crossover and has seating for seven or eight, while keeping a reasonable amount of cargo space behind the third row.
The Highlander Hybrid offers a lower horsepower version of the 3.5L V6 from the gas version, but adds two electric motors to give a total of 280 hp (10 more than the gas version), and increased torque. The engine powers through a CVT transmission. The Hybrid also uses the rear electric motor to drive the back wheels instead of a drive shaft from the front. It also gets torque vectoring to shift power to the wheels in a way that can help traction, or can also help cornering. The Hybrid is available in three trims, LE, XLE and Limited. The LE gets a 6.1-inch touch screen for the audio system with USB, bluetooth and voice recognition. Power windows, dual-zone climate control, a tilt/telescoping wheel, and a backup camera are standard as well. The LE with the convenience package gets heated seats with power adjustment for the driver and SofTex simulated leather, satellite radio, an 8.0-inch display screen, three-zone climate control, a power rear hatch, fog lights, flip up rear window, and 18-inch alloys.
Highlander XLE is adds leather to the first two rows of seats, navigation, a 4.2-inch information display in the dash, and sunshades in the rear door windows. The Limited adds a 12-speaker JBL stereo, perforated leather seats in the first two rows (ventilated for driver and passenger), a heated steering wheel, backup sensors with cross traffic alert, blind spot warning, and 19-inch wheels. The limited has captains chairs in the second row, so has seating for seven instead of eight.
The Highlander Hybrid gets 8.6 L/100 km in the city and 8.5 L/100 km highway. There are no other hybrids in this size class, but the Highlander competes with the Ford Edge, the Honda Pilot, Hyundai Santa Fe, Dodge Durango, and Mazda CX-9. The Highlander was a pioneer of the crossover utility class. It drives well, is very well equipped, and the hybrid can return exceptional fuel economy. The shelf in the middle of the dash is an inspired addition, and is extremely useful for holding phones, snacks, magazines, or whatever you want.
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