2027 Toyota Highlander Goes Electric With 320 Miles Of Range And An Actually Interesting Design

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Toyota has sold much than 3 cardinal Highlanders since nan model's preamble successful 2000, erstwhile it was 1 of nan first unibody midsize crossovers to deed nan market. In 2005, nan first-generation Highlander became nan first Toyota SUV to get a hybrid powertrain, astatine a clip erstwhile astir different automakers weren't moreover rubbing electrification for Prius-like cars. The existent fourth-gen Highlander has been astir since 2019 and remains a world model, but successful 2023 Toyota released the larger, U.S.-focused Grand Highlander SUV. With much abstraction and much precocious hybrid powertrains, nan Grand Highlander has quickly go nan amended seller of nan 2 — Toyota sold almost 3 times much Grand Highlanders successful nan U.S. past twelvemonth than it did regular Highlanders.

Ostensibly because of that, Toyota is going much extremist pinch the fifth-gen Highlander, which conscionable debuted during nan first thrust arena for nan bZ Woodland and C-HR. The 2027 Highlander will only beryllium offered pinch a fully electrical powertrain, and it seems for illustration a coagulated introduction into nan still beautiful sparse three-row EV field.

Full disclosure: Toyota invited maine to thrust to Ojai, California, and put maine up successful a edifice for a mates nights truthful I could spot nan Highlander EV and thrust nan bZ Woodland and C-HR.

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Instead of nan e-TNGA level that underpins electrical Toyotas for illustration nan bZ and C-HR, nan Highlander rides connected a modified type of nan TNGA-K level utilized by everything from nan Camry, RAV4 and aged Highlander to nan Lexus ES and TX, and moreover nan Century SUV. Toyota says nan caller Highlander's TNGA-K setup has a number of enhancements to amended aerodynamics and trim sound and vibration.

Toyota is launching nan Highlander EV successful 2 trim levels, pinch 2 different artillery battalion sizes and either front- aliases all-wheel drive. The guidelines XLE has a 77.0-kWh artillery sending electrons to a azygous centrifugal up beforehand that produces 221 horsepower and 198 pound-feet of torque, pinch Toyota estimating a 287-mile scope (there are no EPA ratings yet). If you want all-wheel drive, Toyota adds a 2nd centrifugal to nan rear axle that ups full output to a patient 338 hp and 323 lb-ft, matching nan facelifted bZ (though the bZ Woodland has 375 horses). The Toyota-estimated scope drops to 270 miles. Going for an AWD Highlander besides gets you off-road thrust modes and crawl control.

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If that's not enough, a 95.8-kWh artillery battalion is optional connected nan XLE AWD and modular connected nan Limited, which is only offered pinch nan dual-motor setup. Both of those Highlanders person a 320-mile range, according to Toyota. 19-inch wheels pinch aero caps are standard, but you tin get nan Limited pinch 22s; of course, Toyota isn't saying what benignant of scope deed you'll return if you do. The automaker besides isn't saying what benignant of DC fast-charging speeds nan Highlander will beryllium capable to grip — it's apt nan aforesaid 150 kW arsenic Toyota's different EVs — but it'll person an NACS complaint larboard and beryllium capable to spell from 10% to 80% successful astir 30 minutes. (Toyota besides hasn't said if that fig is nan aforesaid for some artillery packs.) The Highlander is besides nan first Toyota successful nan U.S. pinch vehicle-to-load capability.

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While its specs aren't precisely breathtaking aliases segment-leading, nan electrical Highlander looks really good. In fact, I deliberation this is nan astir absorbing creation connected a normal person's Toyota successful a agelong time. Compared to nan outgoing internal-combustion Highlander, nan EV is 0.8 inch little successful height, 2.3 inches wider, and 3.9 inches longer overall. The wheelbase has been stretched by 7.9 inches, which will make nan biggest quality to buyers. The Grand Highlander is simply a fewer inches larger overall, but nan Highlander EV's wheelbase is 4 inches longer.

Those tweaked dimensions, squared-off instrumentality arches and blockier proportions spell a agelong measurement toward making nan EV much absorbing to look astatine than nan aged Highlander, but it's nan creation specifications that Toyota really put effort into here. It's sewage Toyota's caller hammerhead signature beforehand extremity look, pinch bladed moving lights that widen crossed nan chemoreceptor and nan headlights themselves successful mini angular pods below.

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Walk astir to nan broadside of nan Highlander and it starts getting weird, I deliberation successful a bully way. The little doors person a chamfered conception pinch an angled fin coming disconnected nan little cladding, and nan flush doorway handles person button-actuated physics latches for illustration connected caller Lexus SUVs. My favourite constituent is nan rear fender treatment, pinch horizontal characteristic lines that travel into nan bladed wraparound taillight. It makes nan Highlander look downright muscular. At nan rear, nan move signals are housed successful triangular pieces that pass nan lines successful nan tailgate and bumper. It's angular and much futuristic than different caller Toyotas, but still handsome and clean.

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It's successfully weird inside, too. The dashboard has a multi-tier wing-like creation pinch much ocular flair than Toyota's bZ (and surely much than nan aged Highlander). You get a 12.3-inch integer gauge cluster and a 14-inch touchscreen moving Toyota's awesome caller infotainment system, beneath which is simply a statement of immoderate beingness buttons that person a bully click to them. The gangly halfway console has a brace of angled wireless charging pads that are bisected by immoderate further controls and nan stubby shifter; nan cupholders are beautiful big, and there's a batch of retention abstraction nether nan halfway armrest.

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The Highlander I sewage to flick astir earlier nan uncover was intelligibly a pre-production model, truthful I'm not going to make immoderate build value judgements, but there's a bully operation of soft-touch materials and finishes. My favourite item are nan unusual doorway three-dimensional doorway cards, which person ambient lighting strips that lead to a highest that's capped disconnected by metallic specifications (and nan spot representation controls for nan driver). It's a creation that feels very un-Toyota successful a bully way. Depending connected nan trim level and colour scheme, nan seats and doorway panels person different perforation and stitching patterns, including a cool lined motif.

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With each 3 rows of seats up nan Highlander EV has 15.9 cubic feet of cargo space, conscionable a tenth of a cube little than a Highlander hybrid. Fold nan 2nd statement level and that grows to 45.6 cubic feet, a fewer cubes little than nan hybrid; Toyota hasn't fixed cargo figures pinch nan second-row seats folded, which don't spell perfectly flat. They do easy descent fore and aft, and there's a dedicated fastener that slides them guardant and folds nan seatback. The 3rd statement has a brace of seats, and connected almost each type of nan caller Highlander nan second-row seats are a brace of captain's chairs, though a three-across chair is available. With nan captain's chairs you get a console successful betwixt pinch retention abstraction and cupholders.

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The level is astir level speech from a somewhat raised conception successful nan 2nd row, making it easy to move into nan back, and nan compartment seems very freely and airy successful general, particularly pinch nan optional panoramic solid roof. It's easy for my 5'9" aforesaid to get successful and retired of nan 3rd row, and nan second-row chairs look comfortable. The driving position is bully too, and it doesn't person nan unusual gauge cluster and steering instrumentality setup utilized successful nan bZ. Paddle shifters are utilized to set nan levels of regenerative braking.

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Opening nan Highlander's trim levels pinch XLE intends it gets a batch of features arsenic standard. The full-width beforehand LED moving light, beforehand acoustic glass, heated beforehand seats and a heated steering wheel, a 6-speaker sound system, 64-color ambient lighting, a built-in dashcam, SofTex synthetic leather upholstery, tons of USB-C ports, second-row ambiance controls, a hands-free powerfulness tailgate, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Standard information features see automated emergency braking pinch pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise power pinch lane centering, lane departure informing pinch steering assist, roadworthy motion discovery and automatic precocious beams.

Move up to nan Limited and you get ventilated beforehand seats and heated second-row seats, a head-up display, representation for nan broadside mirrors, rear sunshades, postulation jam assist, automatic lane changes, beforehand cross-traffic alert, precocious parking assistance and a 360-degree camera system. An 11-speaker JBL sound strategy is offered connected nan XLE AWD and Limited, and you tin get nan LImited pinch two-tone overgarment and 22-inch wheels.

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We don't yet cognize really overmuch nan 2027 Highlander will cost, but if I had to conjecture it'll travel successful location astir $50,000-$55,000 for nan guidelines front-wheel-drive XLE. Toyota says nan Highlander will beryllium assembled astatine its works successful Georgetown, Kentucky, and nan batteries will beryllium produced astatine its caller $13.9-billion manufacturing installation successful Liberty, North Carolina. The electrical Highlander will spell connected waste successful precocious 2026.