How does the Highlander drive?
The new turbocharged 2.4-liter engine produces 265 horsepower and 309 lb-ft of torque. Evaluate this towards the outdated V6’s 295 hp and 263 lb-ft, and you will see that the turbo-four makes much less horsepower however extra torque. Whereas Toyota hasn’t quoted acceleration instances but, we anticipate that the 2023 Highlander’s 0-60 mph time will not be too far off the earlier model’s 7.5-second run.
Do not anticipate gasoline economic system to be considerably totally different both — the brand new powertrain will get an estimated 24 mpg mixed with all-wheel drive (25 mpg mixed with front-wheel drive). That is the identical quantity that the present FWD Highlander achieves. Toyota says that the four-cylinder’s NOx and CO2 emissions are diminished versus the outdated V6, however do not anticipate to see massive financial savings on the pump.
A lot like this engine does in its Lexus counterparts, it feels extra substantial than you’d anticipate a smaller four-cylinder engine to in a car this huge. Energy supply could be very clean in any respect speeds due to the extra torque. From a cease, whereas accelerating to freeway speeds, or when performing passing maneuvers on the freeway, the engine and eight-speed automated transmission work in concord to reply rapidly to throttle inputs and get the SUV up velocity simply. It isn’t a leap ahead in efficiency over the V6, however it’s an total enchancment — besides in a single space: noise.
Turbo-fours do not actually make nice noises and this one is not any exception. Whereas the buzziness at velocity that you just’d get from a CVT is considerably tamed, the cabin will get very noisy beneath acceleration when the engine hits round 3,000 rpm. And on downhill grades, the transmission likes to carry the revs a bit increased so that you do not should lean on the brakes (and with the adaptive cruise management activated) however sadly that triggers the engine to begin to whine once more. I needed to flip up a podcast to have the ability to hear it in these cases.
In any other case, the Highlander drives effectively sufficient. In our overview of the 2022 Highlander we wrote that “the Highlander makes each day driving a low-effort exercise” and that rings precisely true for the 2023 model as effectively. Having a bit much less weight out over the entrance wheels makes the dealing with really feel a contact extra full of life, however these enhancements are incremental and sufficient to maintain the Highlander barely above common in comparison with the remainder of the category.
