2018 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited Platinum V6 Review
2018 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited Platinum V6 Review The present generation of the Toyota Highlander, that made its debut for 2014, continues this version’s regime as a family mainstay. It opts for a real middle-of-the-road placement among three-row utility automobiles– as a design that looks a bit extra rugged as well as truck-influenced compared to much of its peers on the outside, yet stands as a totally carlike, family-friendly minivan option when you consider it from the within out.
Ahead, the 2018 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited Platinum V6 Review and Highlander Hybrid get a new grille design (upper and also lower), plus various grille surfaces and headlight real estate styles relying on grade. Top Limited and also Limited Platinum designs feature painted-chrome information, while others get a silver-painted appearance. And also Limited and also Platinum versions obtain a chrome trim garnish in back.
Most 2018 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited Platinum V6 Review designs will be powered by a changed, direct-injected 3.5-liter V-6, which generates 295 horsepower, up 25 equines this year. These designs additionally obtain a new 8-speed automatic transmission that has an increased torque-converter lockup range as well as exactly what 2018 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited Platinum V6 Review calls a much more direct owning feel. This brand-new powertrain improves both pep and gas economy. The V-6 tops out at 21 mpg city, 27 highway, 23 incorporated.
The base Highlander LE version comes just with front-wheel drive as well as is driven by a 185-horsepower 2.7-liter 4-cylinder engine as well as 6-speed automatic transmission– a mix that is unlikely to return better real-world mileage compared to the V-6 as it’s tougher pressed. It is ranked at 20/24/22 mpg.
On the other hand, all V-6 models include engine stop-start, letting the engine be shut off throughout traffic-light idling and instantly rebooted with a take off the brake pedal.
Hybrid designs likewise get straight injection and also an Atkinson-cycle version of the V-6. The crossbreed system uses 2 electric motors, one in advance and one in the back that offers all-wheel-drive propulsion, to net 306 hp (up 26 horses). The Hybrid delivers 30/28/29 mpg.
Across the board, existing variations of the Highlander have the tendency to deal with more responsively compared to their truck-influenced styling may recommend. Flight quality could get a little bit company with the 19-inch wheels. The brand-new Highlander SE version has the 19s plus a sportier suspension song, however it still isn’t really too rough.
2018 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited Platinum V6 Specs
The Highlander continuouslies use two different formats. Many models offer second-row bench seats that permit up to eight individuals in all; or in leading Limited and Limited Platinum grades you can likewise pick second-row captain’s chairs and also seatsing for 7. The latter may verify the recommended layout for vacant nesters that wish to road-trip with other pairs, or for those that want to enable much easier access to the third row. The second-row bench seat does glide to enhance accessibility to the reclining third-row seat. The third-row bench comes in handy to have, yet it continues to be very little throughout. For 2018, the Highlander now gets four more USB ports, for a total of five.
The base LE model includes such features as 18-inch alloy wheels, Toyota’s Entune AM/FM/CD stereo with a 6.1-inch touchscreen, as well as Bluetooth phone connection as well as music streaming.
The sporty-themed Highlander SE obtains a special dark-painted therapy for the grille, headlamp real estates, and also roofing system rails. Inside, the Highlander SE has black leather upholstery with silver stitching and also formed inserts, matching dashboard as well as door inserts, and also a black front tray.
At the top of the schedule, the Limited Platinum features such functions as leather upholstery, warmed as well as ventilated front seats, vehicle driver’s seat memory, a 12-speaker JBL audio system, a surround-view camera system, a warmed steering wheel, warmed second-row seats, and also a panoramic sunroof.
Safety and security functions and alternatives are reconfigured for the better in the 2018 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited Platinum V6 Review. A new 2018 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited Platinum V6 Review Safety Sense P is currently standard as well as includes a pre-collision system with onward accident and automatic emergency situation braking, plus lane departure alert, a pedestrian pre-collision system, flexible cruise ship control, and also automatic high beam of lights. At the XLE level, the Highlander steps up to a blind spot monitor too, while the Limited Platinum obtains that 360-degree video camera system.
2018 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited Platinum V6 Interior
That interior look skips previous obscurity, and also it’s all auto, with simply a bit of truck influence in the instrument-panel details. A big touchscreen is consisted of on navigation-equipped versions, however it doesn’t upset the cockpit’s visual clearness because most environment and auxiliary features still have tough buttons, not online on-screen ones. The lines move from driver to guest, yet the emphasis is clearly on the left side– large assesses and big, easy-to-operate climate-control knobs are a welcome view.
Generally it’s a pleasing mix of textures and lines, with a big shelf that runs along the dash, opening up the feel of the interior as well as supplying a wonderful location to tuck away products like cell phones.
2018 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited Platinum V6 Exterior
Brand-new nose provides the Highlander a more aggressive however probably less attractive exterior appearance. The grille now handles a weird cone shape with a silver coating on LE and also XLE designs, black for the SE, and also platinum on the Limited models. The grille protrudes better and also makes the automobile 1.3 inches much longer. The Limited design includes pool lights that define “Highlander” on the ground, all designs obtain LED taillights, and the rear end features a chrome garnish on greater line designs.
The total look continues to be in the grey location between SUVs and more rakish crossover wagons, however it’s most definitely closer to a truck look, with the maw-like grille and also overemphasized wheel flares and sills. It’s rather similar to the off-road-centric 4Runner in account, as well as there’s an SUV-ish style that runs precisely contrary to the pattern in a lot of other big crossovers (such as the Hyundai Santa Fe, Honda Pilot, and also Chevrolet Traverse).
Overall, we like the stance as well as the form, but we aren’t enamored of the brand-new grille. We give the Highlander a 6 for designing, including a factor for the interior.
2018 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited Platinum V6 Engine
The 2018 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited Platinum V6 Review offers Crossbreed, 4-cylinder, as well as v-6 designs, with a choice in between front-wheel drive as well as four-wheel drive for much of the lineup.
And also across that schedule, the Highlander has some comparable owning qualities: it’s smooth and also typically fuel-efficient, yet nothing to get all that delighted concerning.
We rate the Highlander a 5 for performance, as it is instead ordinary in handling and velocity.
We have a preferred among the powertrains: the conventional 3.5-liter V-6, which is updated this year.
The 3.5-liter V-6 adds straight injection for 2018, and that aids boost power and gas economic climate. Horse power boosts from 270 to 295 and also torque is up from 248 to 263 pound-feet. It’s likewise coordinated with a new 8-speed automatic transmission, and also it could be coupled with either with front- or four-wheel drive.
On the road, the V-6 offers a lot of power and is competitive with the best V-6s in the class. Power is supplied smoothly as well as the 8-speed automatic has almost invisible changes. The transmission could be a bit tardy to downshift for passing, once it does, that slowpoke before you will certainly soon remain in your rearview mirror. The turbocharged Ford Flex as well as V-8-powered Dodge Durango are quicker, but the Highlander’s V-6 is certainly solid as well as, in our experience, remarkably gas efficient– the enhancement of straight injection need to only enhance that.
The base engine is a 2.7-liter 4-cylinder that comes coupled to a 6-speed automatic as well as is offered just with front-wheel drive. It’s smoother than you may get out of such a big-displacement 4, as well as it makes a meaty 185 hp and also 184 lb-ft of torque; yet that’s really not all that much for a big three-row lorry like the Highlander, as well as while it accelerates reasonably as well as smoothly, it can be strained with a complete load.
At the top of the powertrain lineup is the Highlander Crossbreed; however before you think this is the most effective wager, reconsider. Right here, it does not add up to extremely outstanding efficiency (although mileage is a little bit better, especially around). It utilizes the 3.5-liter V-6, now with direct injection, as well as electrical motors ahead as well as in back, netting 306 hp, which is up 26 hp from in 2015 The engine and also front electric motor are connected to a planetary-type variable power-split device, like Toyota’s other vehicles with Crossbreed Harmony Drive.
2018 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited Platinum V6 Price
The 2018 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited Platinum V6 Review goes on sale in November, with final rates to be announced soon. Given the price level of sensitivity of lots of Highlander customers, we do not expect 2018 prices to increase a lot from 2016 levels. The 2016 Highlander starts at $31,430 for the base LE four-cylinder and climbs to $44,470 for the Limited Platinum V-6; hybrid versions currently set you back concerning $7000 greater than their V-6 equivalents. With the crossbreed powertrain being made available on the reduced trims, nonetheless, the price of access right into a Highlander hybrid will certainly be much less than in the past. We’ll see whether that lures more households to attempt that greener dish, or whether they stick to the (brand-new as well as enhanced) mainstream recipe.
2018 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited Platinum V6 Review
2018 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited Platinum V6 Review All versions of the Highlander Hybrid have four-wheel drive thanks to the rear motor, which means the hybridized engine/transmission powers the front wheels, while only electrical power passes to the rears. Yes, the gas mileage is much better, yet including 350 extra pounds of mechanical gear drags on the Hybrid’s acceleration as well as brings the power-to-weight proportion back right into the territory of the 4-cylinder design.
All V-6 (non-hybrid) Highlander models consist of a towing bundle that enables them to tow up to 5,000 extra pounds; the 4-cylinder variation is rated at a puny 1,500 extra pounds.
