Good value for the money.Quiet comfortable ride. Good visibility. Quality workmanship.

The only weakness I found is the radio speakers.

I must be the only one that chose to buy the 4 cylinder AWD model Highlander. I drove both the 4 and the 6. The smaller engine is more than adequate even with three passengers and luggage. The first time I re-fueled I was happy that I got 25 MPG and that I didn''t have to put Supreme back in the tank. Since this is really not an off-road vehicle I didn''t need the trailer towing package etc. I was mainly interested in an all around vehicle that would travel in all weather conditions. If you are looking for a great state of the art vehicle look no further.We test drove a Rav 4....Too small, a Honda CRV....To cheap inside and a Ford Explorer.....Too scary. All the controls are right where they should be and in most cases are oversized. Toyota will sell bunches of Highlanders. The perfect car/suv/minivan/truck for all oothers to use as a template.

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*smooth ride *very quiet *great gas mileage for an SUV *.003% financing- thats not a mistake- .003% *awesome options-my lights come on & turn off by themselves, heated seats, heated side mirrors, power side mirrors, power door locks, power windows, power drivers seat, air conditioning, cruise control, the back seats recline, 2 front and 2 side airbags, ABS brakes, power moonroof, rear window defrost/wiper, security system, fog lights, traction control, JBL stereo system with 6 disc in dash CD player and cassette(nice bass for a factory sound system), display for inside temp, outside temp gas milage etc., leather seats, optional overdrive, & expensive looking interior trim(the interior also really looks cool @ night when lighted *safety *all wheel drive *powerful 220 HP engine *great warranty & only $925 to extend to 100,000 miles-wont need it anyway *very comfortable *nice looking.........I love to drive again!!!! ohhhh ohh oh oh....what a feeling to drive..........TOYOTA!

no console, which by the way, is too small if you get one factory from Toyota. We got one from somewhere else that is much larger & is equiped with cupholders & storage compartments, plus it fits like a glove. Also the side mirrors are a bit small. The only other weakness is that I can still hear the kids.

This is THE premier SUV. I can''t begin to tell you how delighted I was to buy and drive this vehicle. All wheel drive makes it feel like you are gliding down the highway. It comfortably seats my family of four. The interior looks so impressive, especially with the leather seats we got. It is so quiet, unless of course I have the JBL stereo system with 6 disc CD changer (in dash) cranked up. 220 HP is more than enough power, and as an added bonus, you get about 25-27 MPG on the highway. A guy I work with has a piece of sh!t little Ford Ranger, and he only gets around 17 MPG. Temperature control is nice. I have front and side airbags for added safety. I would recommend this SUV to anyone who is sick of wasting money on American junk! I used to have a 1997 Chev. Blazer. Not even in the same league. I got the same quality of a Lexus for the price of a Toyota. Sounds good to me. The idiot below who rated this vehicle solely on the missing console is a complete moron. He should go to car accessoriesreview.com. Two other poor reviews for this vehicle were people who didn''t even own one. How does that work? I think the PT Cruiser is an ugly, completely useless piece of sh!t, but I dont own one, so Im not going to give it a review. ( It looks like a cross between a milk truck, a geo metro and a hearse, plus it has no room) This SUV should be rated even higher than it is. Only one bad review out of seventy something. Try and find an American car, truck, minivan, or SUV even close to that average

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Nothing similar in quality that I drove. Never had a foreign vehicle. This is 5 times the SUV in every possible aspect when compared to the hunk of junk Blazer I owned. Do yourself a favor and test dr

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I''ve had the truck since March. The dealerhad promised a console to keep the cd''s, cellphone,cassettes, etc from flying around when driving. Toyota has them in stock but won''t release them; I''ve written to them often with no results. Is this the new Toyota level of service?

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Is towing a strength?

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Please forgive my cheating and not writing a review, but I couldn''t think of a better place to ask my question...Just when I narrowed my new SUV Search down to the Toyota Highlander I have a new requirement. I will need to tow horses - weight with trailer under 3500 lbs, but not by much. Has anyone done this with their Highlander and what has your experience been? Thanks in advance

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great quality and finish, smooth ride. Does not ride like a truck. Wonderful engine. Very comfortable for long car rides.

nothing much that I can think of.

It took a while to bargain with the dealers because it is in demand. I finally got the price I wanted by calling 4 dealers, telling them the price that I would pay and telling them that whoever called me back by the end of the morning would get the sale. Geez, all of a sudden they were ALOT more cooperative!

We purchased a Toyota Highlander after about 6 months of reading up on cars and test driving quite a few models.

We needed a family car for three kids. A car sit in the middle and two kids around it, or sometimes two car seats and a kid. We did not want a minivan for now (will get one later). Due to where we live, we did want AWD.

We narrowed the choices down to three cars:

-Acura MDX. Great car, but a tad bit too expensive (35k). I imagine the Honda version will be more in our price range. Just hate to pay full MSRP for a car.

-Passat wagon with 4motion. A GREAT car for anyone who has only two kids. We tried so hard to convince ourselves that it would work for three kids, but it was just too small.

-Highlander: perfect for us. Big, with enough room for everyone. Love the SUV feel without the full guilt factor, as it has a great Camry engine and gets better than most mpg. Very good cargo space (we easily fit a stroller, a big suitcase, a small suitcase, and a portocrip plus a couple of small duffle bags). yippeee....


we took the car on a long (1700 mile) car trip right after we got it, and it was the first enjoyable car ride for our family. The kids all had enough space, and just stared out the door singing along the whole time. Say what you will about sitting up on the road, the kids definitely like it and the view they get.

My sense is that a totally loaded Highlander may be too expensive for what it is (if you are paying over 32k for it), as you can spend a tad bit more and get an MDX or a Lexus RX 300 (smaller, but more refined). For us, since we don't need some of the luxury items, we were very happy to get v6, AWD and a sunroof plus some of the necessary stuff (center console, side airbags, etc.) for under 28k.

We absolutely LOVE this car. Have gotten tons of complements on it so far...

If anyone has any questions about this, or the cars we compared it to, please feel free to contact me. I am happy to share our experiences.

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-see above for Acura MDX and Passat Wagon. The only other competition for us was Subaru, which we alredy have one. I don't like the v4 in Subarus (too weak) and the v6 was more expensive than the Highlander. I thought a moderately dressed up Highlander was the best value for our needs.

Looks good. Its a Toyota. Drives pretty smooth

WIND NOISE when the back windows are down. Its pretty loud. Has anyone had this problem and had it taken care of. Please email me mbswamin@ch2m.com.
I am really concerned about the wind noise. The noise starts if we open one or both back windows with the remaining windows closed, its a fairly loud rattle. The sound goes away if I open the driver window or the sun roof. Something to do with the cross ventilation I think. I am picky about rattles in my car. So I am planning to take it back to the dealer to have it looked at. Almost consider giving it up, if it cant be fixed. Hate to do it though because its a perfect SUV other than that.

Real neat looking car/truck. I say car, since it really handles like one.
Nice interior. Center console is kind of weird. There isnt one. The optional one that they give is too short and kind of looks out of place. Besides if you buy the console, you lose the use of the cups attached to the drivers seat. Overall the Highlander looks and rides smooth.

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None. First SUV

- handling of a car
- features of a luxury car
- gas mileage (compared to other SUVs)
- design
- Toyota quality

- maybe the price of the Limited package, but even then it's worth it for all of the luxury features you get

This is an excellent vehicle designed for the family that wants an "urban lifestyle SUV". We've got the Limited (leather, moonroof, fog lights, 6 cd changer, spoiler, etc.) in millenium silver metallic and it is a beutiful vehicle to drive and to look at! This vehicle (notice I don't call it a truck) handles better than other "truck like" SUVs, in fact it is built on the same platform as the Toyota Camry which it shares with the Lexus RX300, and has all the features of a luxury car. It doesn't have the off road capability of the truck based SUVs, but who needs to climb rock covered hills anyway? Most people who drive an SUV drive it in the city and need it for hauling kids, and for trips to the cottage and little league games. This is the perfect vehicle for those people (which is about 90% of SUV drivers - basically people who don't like the look and image of a van and don't want the awful fuel economy and truck ride of a typical SUV).
I would recommend this vehicle to anyone looking for an SUV for highway/city driving, all except those who have to tow more than 3500 lbs and go off roading. You just can't beat Toyota quality (in fact, this is more like Lexus quality as it is built in the same factory in Japan).

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We test drove the following:
Acura MDX - I can't knock this vehicle, it is very nice and great quality, but more expensive, no deals, the wood grain is tacky, and we didn't need/want the third seat
Lexus RX300 - Highlander has same engine, same platform, basically same interior w/o the center console, for a lot less $
2002 Explorer - basically a truck is a truck is a truck, no matter how Ford tries to say it has changed, it is still lower quality and terrible fuel economy.
We previously drove an Acura 1.6EL, so it's our first experience owning an SUV.

- 220HP, V6, stronger, better gas mileage(17/22?) than LexusRX300 and 4Runner
- drive like a car(but a bit bouncy)
- smooth in acceleration, and changing lane
- power/handling adequate compare to other SUVs
- stylish and not boxy

- Price, price, price! Top of the line/fully loaded is 35K! It would be nice if it is in 32K range. Toyota should know MDX is out there to compete
- Funny looking dash mount gear selector
- cup holder is far down to the bottom of the seat.
- no console box(optional)

To conclude, Highlander is a good SUV in the Toyota SUVfamily. If you don't need frequent off road as 4Runner, a smooth ride as RX300, then this is a SUV for you. But MDX is a better choice because, it is just 6K more than HL
After the test drive, I chose the basic(but almost all features included) MDX at 39K out of the door with 5 month wait

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To Lexus RX300: HL is better in performance, space and price
To the MDX: HL is weaker, smaller, and price is just little less(6K)

Dealers in OH are discounting, but only a little.. top of the line
for 34,000 give me a break.. I just could not compare highlander
with Acura MDX.

Price, Trim,

Nice vechicle but very over priced...

Test drove twice, very nice handling just like a car. Changing lanes
is smooth. Very quite engine and smooth suspension & ride. Wind noice
is minimal. But if you add essential items.. for V6 4X4
Base: 26500 +
Side Airbags: 250
etc...
It coming close to 30 and with leather etc... 34+... very close to MDX.

MDX is a better vechcle...

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MDX

I purchased the V6 4WD, which is not only a powerful passing engine, but secure for wet or icy roads. The sunroof is large, easy to operate. Excellent views from all windows, comfortable seats, and lots of legroom. Excellent safety features, too. I'm delight I bought a Limited Highlander.

The extra cost center console has unusable cup holders, but you can purchase a better cupholder insert at an autoparts store. Toyota can also do better on the sound system.

Wow! Toyota HL is the perfect SUV for a woman. It's not about kilts, but about skirts. Every control is within an easy reach and getting into the HL is a pleasure. No leaping into a big SUV with running boards. With just a flip of the lever on top of the seatback and it goes completely flat, which is a very nice feature for hauling those bulky garage sale finds.

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After driving Buick LeSabres, I'm sold on Toyota quality. The HL has positive steering, no rattles, and that satisfying solid sound when you shut the door.