2008 Toyota Highlander

2008 Toyota Highlander - Now, this is entirely intentional. Since its introduction, the yawn-inducing Highlander has been a key part of Toyota’s everything-to-everyone strategy of world domination, which seems unlikely to end soon unless Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe decides to invade Russia. Among other tactics, Toyota’s U.S. strategy now includes selling no fewer than six SUVs, three of them mid-sizers: the Highlander, the rugged and trucklike 4Runner, and the retro FJ Cruiser.

Clearer in person than in pictures is the fact that the Highlander has grown—a lot. Wheelbase, height, and width are each up about three inches, with overall length up four. Say what you want about the billowing skin itself, but Toyota claims the sheetmetal offers improved aerodynamics (the coefficient of drag is 0.34) while ensconcing a truly massive interior.

Not only is the 2008 Highlander spacious, but it also has many clever solutions for interior flexibility. As expected, the standard third-row seat folds flat, but the second row consists of two individually sliding and reclining buckets (complete with skinny little inboard armrests) with a small center jump seat to hold a third person. When not needed for three-across seating, the center pad can be folded, removed, and handily stowed into a space under the front center armrest. A storage console can then be installed in its place.

Also on the Highlander’s features list is a rearview camera display on mid-grade Sport and top-shelf Limited models. It utilizes the standard 3.5-inch screen in the center of the dash. Naturally, navigation-equipped Highlanders use the large screen instead, leaving the small screen to convey only climate and vehicle data.

Should you order nav, a nice 11-speaker JBL sound system comes along for the ride. And of course, no modern SUV is complete without at least twice as many cup holders as there are seats, and true to form, the Highlander has 14, counting the door pocket bottle holders. That’s a lot of sippy cups and bottled waters—owners would be well advised to use that center-seat area for an onboard Porta Potti.

The 3.5-liter engine brings even base Highlanders up to speed—literally—with the hybrid version that was added for 2006. The new Highlander hybrid carries over the old powertrain, which is also rated at 270 combined horsepower. Now that the power scales are even, we definitely prefer the gasoline model on account of its silky five-speed automatic, which offers manual shift control (hybrid models have a CVT) and far superior brake feel than the touchy hybrid’s.