GSteg

iTrader: (15)

$40k...geeze!

My aunt bought a 2005 highlander v6 limited edition for about $32k out the door. This thing is now almost $40k. Then again, it has a lot more features than the previous highlander.

Any reason to buy this over the RX?

mmarshall

This vehicle was a little over 38K, list. It will probably not go out the door for quite that much.....Highlanders, while popular, are not an extreme supply-and-demand vehicle. Dealers usually keep plenty of them in stock and are willing to discount. But, still, I agree...if you want the best price, it is wise to wait a little while until the vehicle's newness and novelty have worn off a little.

Why buy it over the RX? I would say it depends on your tastes. The RX has a little more quirkiness in its exterior styling and the design of the dash and shift lever, and of course, the nice wood steering wheel the Highlander lacks. They are both great vehicles, but the new Highlander is a little more conventional-looking inside and out than the RX....and its dash, buttons, and controls, IMO are superb. Of course, a lot depends on what the new RX, yet to debut, will be like. I cannot comment on that at this time as I have not seen it.

mmarshall

Enthusiast car magazines, of course, are usually looking for sportiness, and the Highlander is not much of a sporting machine, though its acceleration and handling are both good by SUV standards. Still, obviously, it is not going to keep up in the quarter-mile with an SRT-8 equipped Jeep Grand Cherokee or Mercedes SUV G-class AMG.

In the past, you could almost guarantee that the most sporting and track-capable models would win the comparisons in magazines like this, but today, that is changing somewhat....they look at more than just raw performance numbers. Comfort, interior quality, fit-and-finish, convienence of controls and layouts, and (sometimes) reliability all play more of a part today.

mmarshall

Thanks.

The second and third-row seat-folding levers on the rear sidewall are anything BUT useless. It is a clever and convienent design. My only complaint with it, (and it isn't really a complaint...it is trivial) is that, like in some other vehicles with this feature, the cutouts in the frame underneath required for the seats to fold down in take out a little bit of the road and tire noise isolation when the seats are up and expose them...but it is not bad at all.

I trust that either you or Andrew (Robarapta) will be the first to show us the new RX when pictures are available

mmarshall

Thanks.

The CTS review is coming. It is next on the list....probably early next week. I'm going to help a fellow CL member getting a new Prius today, and have some other things to do tomorrow.

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

I saw a graphite grey one in the city on Monday. Great looking suv in person I wonder if I should trade my Rav4 with 30k on the clock for it Damn.. I can't have 3 car payments now. Can only manage two at a time.

LexFather

I couldn't believe how much better it looks in person. I was expecting crap, lol.

rai

I was waiting for this to come out. Guess it's just as expensive as the MDX, most of the options you list are standard on the base MDX excpt power rear door and tow package.

I didn't notice if you said how it stacks up to the MDX?

Shawnmack

I was looking at one when I was checking out the Tundra. It looks better than the other oh yeah good review MM.

Nextourer

I think he means the stow-away second row middle seat.

That thing's awesome. (as retarded as that sounds)

mmarshall

IMO, it trumps the MDX in most areas. The MDX's steering response is a little crisper than the new Highlanders's, but the difference isn't that much....and the MDX's steering really gets trumped by its own little brother RDX....as it does in acceleration also with the RDX's Turbo four. The only significantly better features on the MDX over the Highlander are lower-body cladding to ward off paint damage from salt and debris......this, for some reason, the Highlander lacks......and a slightly more linear brake response. And even the MDX's lower-cladding is not the best design......it is inward-sloping, so IT will pick up a lot of debris too.

mmarshall

The new Highlander has remote releases and seat folding for both the second and third rows.

The Highlander is also not the first vehicle to have the Stow-N-Go feature. It has already been pioneered, in various forms, in several minivans and full-size SUV's. The way that the Highlander does it with all-remote levers, however, is well-done.

xioix

I think they are talking about the middle seat in the 2nd row, how it can hide in to floor and allow passengers in the 3rd row seat easy exits

AM1

iTrader: (6)

good review, but does anyone watch what those idiots at the calty design studio do?

Nextourer

You're still talking about the outboard seats lol. I know what you mean about the releases in the back. I have played around with it.


We're talking about the MIDDLE seat in the MIDDLE (second) row .

The one that stores under the center console. Yeah, Honda had a similar concept with the Odyssey's 8th seat that stored into the floor but to be honest, I never got that seat to fix properly. Toyota's solution of sliding it under the console is better because you don't have to worry about making flaps in the carpet mats. (What happens if you put rubber mats?)