On Wheels by Brooks Peterson

Saturday, April 14, 2001

There's room for Highlander

You think Toyota hasn't picked up on the sport-utility vehicle craze that continues to sweep America despite all the ominous rumblings from OPEC and the garment-rending histrionics of social critics?
   Don't kid yourself. Toyota doesn't miss much, boys and girls.
   Oh, sure, they toss out the occasional dud - the Easter egg-inspired Previa minivan, for instance, or the unloved not-quite-full-size T100 truck) - but Toyota knows a marketplace phenomenon when it sees one, and it's right up there with Ford and General Motors when it comes to addressing America's raging case of SUV Lust.
   To wit: With the arrival of this week's tester, the Highlander, Toyota now offers five - count 'em - SUVs in its product line.
   We begin with the quintessential Cute Ute, the RAV4 (now in its second incarnation, blithely disregarding the sneers of SUV purists); then we move on to the venerable 4Runner, a for-real offroad vehicle that beats you to a pulp even as it unerringly gets you where you're going.
   Trotting briskly along, we check out the new Sequoia, a seriously huge SUV (and Tahoe-challenger) based on the new Tundra full-size pickup platform; and, finally, the top-o'-line Land Cruiser: now swathed in luxo trappings (and still saddled with its massive case of petrothirst), it is as solid as the proverbial brick, er, toolshed.
   Lexus lineup
   There's more: Lexus, a high-line Toyota spinoff, offers two SUVs of its own: the carlike RX 300, and the LX 470, a more opulent variation on the Land Cruiser. That's a grand total of seven SUVs. As for fuel-sipping, enviro-friendly, rational little commuter vehicles, we have the aforementioned Echo and the gas-electric Prius hybrid. Period.
   Sensing a trend
   I think I sense a trend, as one lemming said to the other on his way over the edge . . .
   In light of all this, did Toyota actually need another SUV?
   The House of the Intersecting Ovals would have survived without the Highlander, no question - but, market-wise, this particular trip was necessary.
   Thing is (or was), while the RAV4 is decidedly carlike, the Toyota line didn't have anything else that could be considered a crossover SUV - one that blended the (relatively) nimble handling and roominess of a conventional sedan or wagon with at least a modicum of off-road capability.
   Unibody construction
   Happy day: There, in the Lexus stable, was the rapturously received RX 300 - the top seller in the Lexus line, no less. While the Highlander and the Lexus bear scant visual resemblance to one another, the DNA evidence is unassailable. Both are powered by the same 3-liter, 200-horsepower V-6 (though a four will be optional on the Toyota) (fergit it, sez me), and both feature unibody construction rather than the more rugged (according to traditionalists) body-on-frame format.
   But we're not talking twins. Interestingly, the Toyota is 4 inches longer overall than the Lexus'. Of course the Highlander is less lavishly tricked out than the Lexus - and, just by the way, significantly friendlier, bottom-line-wise.
   Do my ears deceive me, or does the Highlander speak with a wee bit o' the old Scots burr? Hoot mon!
   My week with the Highlander was a pleasant and uneventful one, save for one mildly embarrassing experience:
   Hopping into the driver's seat and surveying the controls, I saw not even the faintest suggestion of 4WD paraphernalia - no separate lever for a transfer case (not that you'd expect one in this semi-ute) - and so assume my tester was a 2WD version . . .
   I continued under this misapprehension until a few days later when, strolling around the rear, I noted a bit of tinsel announcing that this was, in fact, an all-wheel-drive vehicle.
   Tribute to Highlander
   What, you never made a mistake?
   In a way, this is a tribute to the Highlander, for the AWD - which is to say, full-time four-wheel-drive, with electronic wizardry determining which axle gets how much power - is utterly unobtrusive in its operation.
   How's she drive? Like a tall station wagon, essentially.
   The handling is not what you'd call razor-sharp, but it is light years removed from the genuinely scary behavior the SUVs of yesteryear delivered. You can actually have a bit of fun in the twisties, providing you don't get all giddy.
   The V-6 - which is, after all, propelling a vehicle not too far removed from a matronly two tons - gives a decent account of itself. It's not what you'd call spirited, but neither does it have a drinking problem: 18/22 in the EPA city/highway cycle may not sound impressive, but in SUV World it's better than respectable.
   The suspension - independent front and rear - is still a bit stiff-legged if you're transitioning in from, say, a Roadmaster. To the SUV faithful, however, it will seem almost sinfully plush.
   Comfortable seats
   Comfortable seats and plenty of stretch-out room add dramatically to the Highlander's allure. The seats, done in a tweedy and no doubt durable fabric, were well shaped, as was the second-row bench seat (which, of course, folds forward to make more room for cargo).
   A couple of mildly odd notes about the interior: First, there's not even the suggestion of a console between the front seats: just empty space. (OK: drink holders fold down from the right of the driver's seat cushion, but still . . .)
   Second, the shifter for the automatic transmission sprouts from the center of the dash, for crying out loud - recalling nothing so much as the arrangement in the (utterly dissimilar) Alfa Romeo Duetto roadster. That, of course, is where the resemblance ends.
   The price you pay
   For many a potential customer, of course, the biggest selling point will be that the Highlander is a Toyota, with all that implies in terms of durability, reliability and build quality. And if that means radically reducing the possibility of breaking down in exotic spots and making interesting new friends . . . well, that's the price you pay.
   Just one more compromise in your life plan - and one that most people seem to have no trouble accepting. Go figure.
  

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