Last week, I had the opportunity to get my hands on the 2016 Toyota Highlander for a couple of days, and I must say, I was impressed! No, seriously, I fell in love with this SUV.
2016 Toyota Highlander
First Impressions
When the Highlander was delivered, I was a bit intimidated by its size, but that intimidation went out of the window when I sat in the driver’s seat. It was so comfortable. I felt like I was sitting on clouds – so high and comfy. The steering wheel controls and touchscreen took a bit getting used to, but I’m a quick learner, so before I knew it, I was a Highlander pro.
The Good
- Seats 7 passengers in its three rows. The trim I received has captain’s chairs in the middle row which allow for separate seating, an arm rest, and the ability to move the seats forward and back.
- Nice sized trunk space. Don’t think you’ll be sacrificing trunk space if you have folks in your 3rd row. I was still able to fit my two suitcases, duffle bag, and a few other items in there.
- Touchscreen display
- Turn-by-turn navigation. I think this feature should be standard in every vehicle made in 2016 and beyond – honestly…truly.
- Blind spot monitoring and backup camera
- Steering wheel controls
- Automatic tailgate – no need to huff and puff to open or close the trunk when your hands are full.
- Rear air-condition controls allow your passengers to control the temperature in the back.
- Heated seats in the 2nd row
- Panoramic moonroof
- V6 engine!!!! Yes, everyone knows I like acceleration, and I had no issue merging onto the interstate with the Highlander. I absolutely loved the V6 engine and all the horsepower it came with. It was a smooth ride also. As I mentioned above, it was like riding on clouds in this vehicle.
The Bad
- No folding side mirrors. This option isn’t mandatory, but I am so accustomed to folding in my mirrors where I normally park that I was surprised this SUV didn’t come equipped with this option.
All In All
All in all, this was an amazing SUV. The worst part of my driving experience was handing the keys back to the drivers when they came to pick it up. No…seriously….this was sort of traumatic 🙂 I really enjoyed this vehicle. I only had to fill up once, and that’s because I had to drive out to Virgina for a wedding reception but other than that, I didn’t have to fill up again. I was able to run my daily errands and drive out to Baltimore and various locations without having to worry about how much gas I had left.
While Toyota is a trusted brand, I wasn’t wowed with their interior and exterior design in the past but they have truly revamped, and their newer models are quite impressive. I am really impressed with Toyota’s new designs, and I cannot wait to test drive their other vehicles *hint hint*.
The 2016 Toyota Highlander starts at $30,490.
MPG: estimated 20/25
USB port: There are about 2-3 USB ports throughout this vehicle.
Test drive the Toyota Highlander at a local dealership and experience it for yourself!
I was not compensated for this review. Toyota provided me with this vehicle free of charge for this review. You are more than welcome to gift me with a 2017 Toyota Highlander should the Lord move your heart to do so.
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