2014 Toyota Highlander Video

With the 2014 Highlander, Toyota says it has addressed shortcomings that led to a fifth-place finish in our $37,000 SUV Challenge. The popular SUV debuted at the 2013 New York International Auto Show, and Cars.com reviewer Kelsey Mays says its improvements include a higher-quality interior with touch-point padding and upgraded tech such as standard Bluetooth connectivity and a backup camera. While once-stingy cargo room has improved, Mays notes the Highlander still trails competitors in that department.

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Exterior updates to the longer, wider SUV include a more vertical front end with a chrome strip running between the headlights and through the grille as well as RAV4-like taillights. The new Highlander is set to hit dealerships in early 2014. Check out the video below.

2014 Toyota Highlander: Photo Gallery

They say it's what's inside that counts — but we all know no self-improvement kick is complete without an image makeover to go with it. And so it goes with the 2014 Toyota Highlander, which the automaker has dutifully spruced up, inside and out. Exterior updates include a lower, more aerodynamic roofline; longer, wider body; and larger rear quarter windows and repositioned front A-pillars, both of which improve visibility.

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Inside are overdue interior upgrades like a soft-touch instrument panel and noise-reducing acoustic glass. That's in addition to a reported 34% cargo-space boost, as well as seating for an eighth passenger thanks to a wider third row. Check out the gallery below. Cars.com photos by Evan Sears.

2014 Toyota Highlander: Up Close

Toyota's all-new 2014 Highlander has a commanding presence that's not typical of the brand's traditionally conservative styling. At the 2013 New York International Auto Show, Toyota cat-walked the new Highlander down a fashion-show runway; its new Tundra-like front grille and masculine design look great in motion.

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The upscale Limited trim level on display takes a similar leap in interior quality as the all-new 2013 Toyota Avalon — a car that has one of the nicest interiors for its price. Like the Avalon, the Highlander Limited shows off soft-touch materials in key user-contact areas like the steering wheel, arm rests and upper door panels where elbows also rest. High-quality leather stitching surrounds the upper dashboard, steering wheel, seats and door panels. Painted plastic around the climate controls does a poor job simulating an aluminum look, however. I prefer a darker color, which better hides the imitation look.

2014 Toyota Highlander at the 2013 New York Auto Show

• Competes with: Honda Pilot, Chevrolet Traverse, Ford Explorer
• Looks like: A sleeker Highlander with bolder proportions
• Drivetrain: 2.7-liter four-cylinder with front-wheel drive and six-speed automatic transmission; 3.5-liter V-6 with six-speed automatic transmission and front- or all-wheel drive; 3.5-liter V-6 hybrid with continuously variable transmission and all-wheel drive
• Hits dealerships: Early 2014

The 2014 Toyota Highlander is thoroughly overhauled with an all-new interior featuring room for eight occupants — one more than 2013 — and an all-new sleeker exterior. Toyota says it's taking an upscale approach with the new Highlander's interior as well as adding more cargo room and standard features.  

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The old interior's styling hasn't been updated since 2008, so the revamp is a much-needed one. Toyota's midsize Highlander SUV last received an overhaul for the 2011 model year with mostly cosmetic changes.

Because the outside was recently updated, it needed less attention than the interior but that didn't hold Toyota back from going all out with the new look. The roofline is lower for improved aerodynamics while the overall length has grown 3 inches and the width by a half an inch. Toyota says rearward visibility is improved from larger rear quarter windows. The automaker also claims forward visibility is improved with repositioned front A-pillars.

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: August 2012

New-car sales in August continued a trend that dates to May: massive gains for Toyota and Honda relative to an earthquake-stymied 2011, with solid — albeit smaller — gains among other major automakers. Both Japanese automakers led the march toward higher auto sales as the industry's seven biggest automakers gained 20.4% in August sales. By day's end, we could see the best annualized sales rate since spring as higher incentives and more credit availability sent shoppers to showrooms. It comes despite rising transaction prices, which are up $2,338 or nearly 8% on the average car versus August 2011, according to CNW Marketing Research.

The highest gains among big sellers came from the Honda Accord and Civic, whose combined sales nearly doubled, even though a new Accord is just around the corner and the redesigned Civic received lukewarm reviews. Toyota Corolla and Matrix sales increased nearly 50%, and Japan's three biggest automakers gained 37.9% in August sales. That's more than three times the percentage gain for their Detroit Three rivals.

Toyota Prices Four-Cylinder Highlander

Toyota announced several months ago that it would produce a four-cylinder version of its Highlander crossover. We got the specs awhile back, and today the company announced pricing.

At $25,705, the four-cylinder model is $1,895 cheaper than the base V-6 Highlander. The Highlander is just $270 less than Toyota’s newest crossover, the Venza, which starts at $25,975.

In terms of content, the only big difference between the four- and six-cylinder Highlanders is (obviously) the powertrain. The four-cylinder gets a 187-hp, 2.7-liter four-cylinder with 186 pounds-feet of torque, mated to an all-new six-speed automatic transmission. The V-6 makes 270 hp and is mated to a five-speed automatic transmission — so it’s a difference of 83 hp. On the plus side, the four-cylinder with its more fuel-efficient transmission gets 20/27 mpg city/highway, beating out other midsize competitors like the Mazda CX-9, Hyundai Santa Fe and Honda Pilot. The Venza manages to get better mileage (21/29) with the same powertrain.

Sales of the Highlander last month were down 35.9%. Hopefully for Toyota, the four-cylinder Highlander will buoy sales and stop the declines. Whether or not the Venza will cannibalize even more sales away from the Highlander is something we’ll have to wait and see.

The four-cylinder model should show up at dealerships in mid- to late January — about the same time the four-cylinder Venza goes on sale.

Four-Cylinder Toyota Highlander Rated at 27 MPG

Toyota announced a couple months back that it would produce a four-cylinder version of its Highlander crossover. Today, the company has published some of the specs behind the newest model. The new Highlander is powered by a 187-hp, 2.7-liter four-cylinder with 186 pounds-feet of torque. It’s mated to an all-new six-speed automatic transmission. This is the same engine and transmission in the new Venza, and with good reason; Toyota’s K-platform underpins the Venza, Highlander and Camry, so putting the new engine in these models is cost-effective for the company. It also gets good mileage.

The new Highlander has received EPA fuel-economy estimates of 20/27 mpg city/highway (22 mpg combined), which is great for a midsize crossover. The newest Highlander is rated 2 mpg better than the V-6 Highlander in the combined cycle. The crossover also blows its competitors (Mazda CX-9, Hyundai Santa Fe and Honda Pilot) out of the water, mainly because those cars feature more-powerful power plants. As of now, the four-cylinder Highlander is only planned as a front-wheel-drive model.

Ch-Ch-Changes: 2009 Toyota Highlander to Offer Four-Cylinder

When Toyota introduced the redesigned Highlander for 2008, it defended the V-6-only drivetrain by saying four-cylinder buyers would drop down to a RAV4. Evidently that’s changed: With gas prices as high as the junkies in “Pineapple Express,” a four-cylinder Highlander seems like a good move. Under the hood is the new 2.7-liter four-cylinder from the Venza, whose 189 hp represents a healthy gain over Toyota’s current 157-hp, 2.4-liter four-cylinder. Final mileage ratings are pending, but Toyota spokesman Bill Kwong put preliminary estimates at 20/26 mpg city/highway for a FWD four-cylinder, which is about 10% better than the FWD V-6’s already-decent 18/24 mpg rating. (Memo to Dodge: This unseats the four-cylinder Journey, which gets 19/25 mpg, as segment-best.)

The four-cylinder Highlander comes as a two-row, FWD base model. Options include a third-row seat and an upgraded stereo, and Toyota says it can be equipped to tow 3,500 pounds, versus 5,000 pounds for the V-6. The automaker has yet to announce pricing, but considering that the difference between a four-cylinder Camry and a V-6 version is $3,600, we’d expect the four-cylinder Highlander to start under $25,000. The 2009 Highlander V-6 starts at $27,600. Four-cylinder Highlanders go on sale in mid-January 2009, and Kwong said that if the model proves popular — and we think it will — expanding its availability to Sport and Limited trims is a possibility.

Reader Review of the Week: 2008 Toyota Highlander

This grandmother from Minnesota has owned multiple types of large vehicles with her husband, including a full-size conversion van, a Suburban and a minivan. The couple test drove the 2008 Toyota Highlander and found plenty to recommend. The Highlander gives them the room they need for their grandkids and gets better fuel mileage than they expected (had they gone with the hybrid version, that mileage would be even higher). Read her full review after the jump, and post your own here.

Cars.com Faceoff: 2009 Dodge Journey, 2009 Honda Pilot, 2008 Toyota Highlander

High gas prices are here at the same time almost every automaker is rolling out a highly visible crossover. While they get better fuel economy than truck-based SUVs, they’re no econobox. The editors at Cars.com took on two all-new models — the 2009 Dodge Journey and 2009 Honda Pilot — and pitted them against the 2008 Toyota Highlander, which was redesigned last year. These three models are strictly for families, and we decide which is the best and which is the best value. Check out the winner and let us know what you think of our decision in the comments below.

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