The Toyota Highlander is one of the best mid-size car based SUVs available. The new Highlander carries over with minimal changes for 2010. This vehicle is still seen as one of the best combinations of an SUV and sedan. From the Toyota Highlander review known that the new Highlander offers space, versatility and other benefits of larger SUVs combined with car-like handling, smooth ride and reasonable gas mileage. The 2010 Highlander competes in the heart of the SUV market, against mid-size offerings ranging from traditional off-roaders to vehicles that are really just tall wagons. Offering seating for seven adults, the Highlander is surprisingly versatile.
Like many Toyotas of recent years, the styling of the 2010 Highlander and Highland Hybrid has grown more rounded but no more distinctive. With the exception of the space-age Prius hybrid, Toyota vehicles rarely stand out, and that includes the Highlander. While the Highlander interior is well built and offers all the amenities buyers expect, it’s not particularly stylish-which seems to be just fine with hundreds of thousands of Highlander buyers.
The 2010 Highlander is available in Base, Sport and Limited grades in both two-wheel (2WD) and full-time four-wheel-drive (4WD) models. The four-cylinder engine is standard on the Base grade with 2WD. The 2010 Highlander Hybrid comes with four-wheel drive (4WD) technology. EV mode allows the driver to operate strictly in electric mode for a limited distance at low speeds.
The 2010 Highlander offers a choice of three powertrains, three trim levels and front or all-wheel-drive. The base engine on the 2010 Toyota Highlander is a new 187-horsepower, 2.7-liter four-cylinder ($25,855) paired to a six-speed automatic. It provides acceptable performance and decent fuel economy, although it’s not quite as silky and responsive as the smooth, torquey 270-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6 ($27,750 that’s the optional engine. Toyota may call its five-speed automatic the “Super Intelligent Electronically Controlled Transmission,” but its lethargic downshifts, even in manual mode, drains some zest out of the big V-6.
The 2010 Toyota Highlander Hybrid shares a powertrain with the much pricier, ritzier 2010 Lexus RX 450h. It uses a specially tuned 3.3-liter V-6 paired with two electric motors where the transmission would go, plus one more electric motor that provides all-wheel drive by powering the rear wheels. According the Toyota Highlander review this gasoline engine is smooth and refined, and when combining gasoline and electric torque, the hybrid system produces 270 horsepower. This gives the 2010 Highlander Hybrid quick V-8-style acceleration, even though it’s larger and heavier than previous editions. The EPA rates the Highland Hybrid at 27 mpg city, 25 mpg highway.
Standard safety features include anti-lock disc brakes with brake assist, electronic vehicle stability and traction control systems, active anti-whiplash front head restraints, front side-impact airbags and overhead curtain airbags for all rows. The 2010 Toyota Highlander earns perfect five-star ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in three of four impact tests: front driver, side driver, and side rear passenger impacts. The only test in which it doesn’t earn five stars, for front passenger impact, results in a still-impressive four-star rating.
The new Highlander comes standard with cloth upholstery; air conditioning; three-row seating for up to seven passengers; a 40/20/40 second-row seat with a removable center section that can be stowed under the first-row center console; AM/FM/CD with six speakers and MP3/WMA playback; power windows, door locks, and foldable mirrors; remote keyless entry; cruise control; variable intermittent wipers front and rear; rear defogger; rear spoiler; tilt/telescope steering wheel; two front and one cargo-area 12-volt power outlets; and 245/65R17 tires on alloy wheels. A fold-flat third row is standard with the V6, optional ($740) with the four-cylinder. Please share your thoughts and opinions regarding to this Toyota Highlander review in a comment below the post.
View the 2010 Toyota Highlander pictures and wallpaper
Toyota offers V6 and hybrid Highlanders equipped under the hood of our car was equipped with a fairly large 2.7 VVT-i four-cylinder 187 hp at startup and a gas sipping six-speed automatic is good for 20 miles gallon in the city and as much as 27 mpg on the highway.