Hi Joe Bruzek from cars.com the redesign 2014 toyota highlander has made
significant improvements with its bold styling and increased family
friendliness and technology on the inside the redesign took a formerly
middle of the pack
crossover SUV it made it so much more competitive than what it used to be
against some of the segment's most notable players like the hyundai santa
fe ford explorer and honda pilot the Highlanders improvements on the inside
or just as notable as the ones on the outside
there's a significantly improved interior quality styling very nice
accents around the dashboard
there's new soft touch materials up front the cosmetic stitching on the
steering wheel and the dashboard are very nice
while those touches are impressive perhaps most notable are some very
innovative features that Toyota has put in the highlander for 2014 and that
includes this multimedia shelf and a massive center console storage the split
top center console storage is massive
it looks about normal size on the outside compared to most suvs but on the
inside it is huge
so we stuff the whole bunch of stuff in here we're gonna start off
one two three
and for three boxes of cereal and some french toast sticks
there's exceeding comfort in the front and the rear seats of the Highlander
it's a very flat wide cushy seating the seats don't exactly match the sporting
character that Toyota was going for with a Highlander but in the back you have a
lot more room there is actually now room for eight occupants standard the second
row slides and reclines in a 60-40 split
I have the driver's seat position where i would sit and I have a lot of leg room
with the seat slid all the way forward but sliding back and now i have a ton
more and it's very comfortable
I don't know the new aspect of the second row is the slide in double
feature for the third row now it's on both sides the previous highlander it
had this function but it was only on the passenger side
there's no more room for passengers to climb through into the third row in the
third row itself is roomier there's a lot more with back here because of a new
rear suspension setup is actually seating for three instead of the
previous seating for two
it's not the most comfortable it's not as spacious as a Chevrolet Traverse is
some of the larger three row crossovers
but it's good in a pinch and with the sliding second row you can get decent
leg room for an adult in the third row
there's finally more cargo space behind the third row now it's only up to 13 . a
cubic feet from 10.3 but that's great considering how little there was before
and something is better than nothing but you're still not going to get as much
room behind the third row behind the pilot for the ford explorer a power
liftgate is one of those features that once you use once you don't want to do
without it again and highlander makes it available as standard equipment on the
33 thousand dollar le plus and above trim level
that's unlike the blind spot monitoring system that you can only get on the
market that's a trim level but the power liftgate has a trick up its sweet
it's completely adjustable so you can lower it to clear your garage program it
and now it's going to open to this height any other time that you open it
the Highlanders driving experience isn't it shining attribute and that's not a
huge problem most people buying a three-row SUV are going to be totally
concerned about the ride quality but I wasn't a fan of just how choppy and
stiff
the ride was compared to the previous highlander which was extremely
comfortable in time I went for a much for your experience in the 2014 and it
does handle better than the old one but it's not what I would call fun to drive
it's still a little numb as far as a steering and the brakes and the throttle
and while the v6 is potent enough for the highlander it's it's not quick or
snappy like the hyundai Santa they overall you know toyota
it's ok if something looks dynamic like the highlander but doesn't drive like it
one thing we would like to see is a blind spot monitoring system on lesser
trim levels and not just the forty thousand dollar limited like it's
currently available
the blind spots on the Heighliner aren't that bad but it's bulky enough on the
inside that we would like that extra assurance the old highlander truly was a
mid-pack SUV that's where it's finished in our previous 37 thousand dollar 3-row
crossover SUV challenge and it just wasn't as competitive as far as cargo
room interior versatility and it was just kind of a bland SUV that is no
longer the case the 2014 Highlander is improved in all of those areas and it's
geared up to compete with the segment's best
ok
and
yeah