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HighlanderGeneral discussion forum for the Toyota Highlander and Highlander Hybrid.
This is a discussion thread titled "Highlander vs. Competition (Buying? Pros & Cons)", within the Highlander forum, part of the SUV Forums category.
Fellow Highlander enthusiasts. My wife and I are coming up on our one year Highlander anniversary. 16,000 miles and only one aggravating rattle from under the drivers side of the dash. Sounds like a bumble bee, a high frequency vibration. It comes and goes so we aren't real worried about it now.
The interior is holding up well. Engine runs great.
These vehicles are keepers. Nice to have a "built in Japan" Toyota.
Not one problem with the brakes either. Just like new.
My wife and I both are coming close to our two year anniversary this January with close to 34K miles. During that first summer when we bought our car the heater/AC fan was making a rattling noise for couple of weeks, and it just went away never to be heard again. The check engine light came on for almost two weeks and I took it in. The damn tech told me they did not seen anything wrong with the car, but they did saw a air hose connecting to the airfilter box was unclamp. So those A-ho charged me $80 for reinstalling the air hose since it was not under part of the warrenty or whatsoever. Let's also see, after two recalls and taking it in. The only thing really bothering me now is that wind noise coming from the driver side door when driving on the freeway at 70-80 MPH. It doesn't come on all the time, but mostly when it's on a winding day. Also wind noise is pretty strong in front of the front window, 'cos you can hear noises coming against the window at high speed on the highway. I don't hear that wind noise coming against the front window when driving my father-in-law's 99 GMC Jimmy. Good thing we do not have a sunroof, 'cos I heard that is also a wind noise problem too. All in all, I'm pretty happy with my 2001 Highlander except that I don't not have a nice center console like all of you other 2002 and 2003 Highlander owners do. I just have that cheesy skinny one I bought from the dealer for $168 and I install it myself. Maybe someday I'll buy that $500-$700 center console one. That's all my problems for now after driving it for two years.
Hi,I am thinking about getting a Highlander(maybe a 4 cyl) as a travel vehicle,and wife's in town driver.There would be 4 adult sized people,and one-maybe two-greyhounds in it.I think the dogs can curl up,and just barely fit behind the seat,but would 4 adults be confortable on a long trip?We usually drive 1500 miles from New Orleans to Flagstaff every summer.We do it non-stop(except for gas,food ,etc),and it takes about 25 hours.Last year we did it in the Tundra-three in the cab(back seat not too great for 17 year old 200 lb kid),and one under the cap with the dogs and luggage.It wasn't too bad(of course,I was driving most of the time),but it is unsafe riding in the bed.
Would 4 adults be reasonably confortable in the seats?.The baggage would go on the top-except for an icechest for food,drinks..We will also have a small TV VCR + videogame player.
Thanks for any ideas.Charlie PS my second choice is a Pilot,or an Odyssey,but the Pilot is 17-22 MPG VS 22-27 MPG.The Odyssey is 18-25,but it has very little ground clearance,and we occasionally ride on some bumpy roads,and the city streets here in New Orleans are full of potholes.We also have street flooding,so the ground clearance gives me pause.The Odyssey is huge inside ,but claims less than 5" of clearance.It is also a minivan,and it has a very low "cool index".
NOTATION - Threads merged and renamed due to similar topics and discussion. If you have any questions please let me know.
Duh,I mean comfort,not confort.Guess I should proof read before posting.Thanks,Charlie PS There will also be 3 MTB bikes on a hitch rack.The 4 cyl might be really marginal with that load-about 1100 lbs of people and luggage.How peppy is it?Real dog?
Charlie... I have a 00' Access cab Tundra, and although you can fit 5 in it fairly comfortably, my wife's Highlander is cavernous by comparison. The back seat is more than adequate for 2 adults and the storage area behind is generous as well. You can even slide the back seats forward for more storage area without cramping back seat passengers. My wife delivers pet supplies for a volunteer organization and packs hundreds of pounds of litter and pet food regularly. I can't speak for the 4 cylinder Highlander, but we have the 3.0 V6 with 4WD and that thing flies. The handling is incredible as well, especially in adverse conditions like all the snow we've had in Jersey this winter. It's a very solid vehicle. I would consider the V6 (and 4WD) assuming the load you plan on carrying. The Highlander is a fairly heavy vehicle. I think the Highlander rates considerably higher on the "cool index" compared to a minivan and is surely much more fun to drive. Drive one and you''ll see what I mean ...
Stickman,thanks for the reply.I think you are probably right on the 4 cyl being a bit too little for the load I have in mind.Last year the Tundra didn't even seem to notice the load(maybe 1500+ lbs with the 150-200 lb cap weight),A 4 cyl might be a very different story,even if we manage to keep it to 1100 lbs or so.I managed to insulate(sound and heat) the bed and run a dryer vent hose from the AC vent,so the bed wasn't bad,and you could stretch out and sleep.It is just too dangerous in a wreck,so we won't do that again.
I am leaning toward the Highlander,because I have had good luck with Toyotas.We have a 1995 Accord with 115,000 miles on it that has been a good car,so the Pilot is a consideration-wish it wasn't such a plain looking SUV.
Do you have any pets?If you are ever looking for a dog,consider a retread greyhound.Isis is the Best dog we have ever had.They are very gentle- won't bite the neighbors kids,they rarely bark,have no doggy odor(except just after running),and usually come already housebroken.Did I also mention they are very sweet?For big dogs they don't take up much space.Many of them are cat safe(we have 3 cats who are sorta mean to Isis,always cheapshoting her when she walks by).We will probably get a second this summer.Finally they are great travelers.On a trip she gets up about every 3 hours,turns around 3 or 4 times,paws her bedding,and plops down for another 3 hours. They Very hardy dogs ,never sick,none of the congenital problems other big breeds have;
Well,I have run on,your wife probably knows all this already.Great with kids also,very gentle,.Thanks,Charlie PS I will test drive one this weekend. A dealer is advertising one for $21,999,complete with roof rack.See if I can get a similar deal on a V-6,maybe $2000 more.
>> Do you have any pets?If you are ever looking for a dog,consider a retread greyhound.<<
Charlie....we have many pets. My wife works closely with Greyhound Rescue organizations as well as other breeds. Nice to see people like yourself providing good homes for "used" Greyhounds.... Good luck in your Highlander evaluation
I've done several 1000+ mile road trips in my Highlander. No problem what so ever with 4 full grown people. I'm about 6' and 200lbs and have plenty of space left over when I'm in the back, even with the front seats slid back most of the way.
Look into the V6. It shouldn't be that much more, and the V6 is a very fun engine for the highlander. This thing really moves out.
As for the dogs, if your doing cargo uptop, they might be comfortable in the rear-cargo area. Not sure, if they layed down, probably no problem, otherwise they might be a little crowded if they are as big as the grey-hounds I'm used to.
Still though, it's a great car for road-trips and daily driver. It also gets very respectable gas mileage when it's up to speed on the highway.
Kev42 Stickman.Thanks for the tips.It sounds like the V-6 would be a much better bet than the 4 cyl.Motor Trend shows the Highlander V-6 is just about as quick as the v-8 Tundra 8.3 VS about 8.2.The V-6 is rated 23mpg on the highway,so I expect it gets very close to that.My Tundra gets an honest 18(or more) in pure highway driving at 60-65.If I wick it up to 75+ I still get 16.5 with a heavy load and cap(4 adults,one 70lbs dog,3 MTB bikes with a very heavy hitch rack~80 lbs, plus tools,luggage,TV -VCR,inverteretc).I think the non fuel load was ~ 1500 lbs.The load in the Highlander would be less maybe 1100lbs,since no cap and no heavy insulation(old wrestling mat) would be needed.We don't travel light!
I am glad you folks figure 4 adults can travel in comfort.I measured the area behind the seat,and I measured Isis's sleeping area.(greyhound are big,a lanky 67 lbs).One dog would be a cinch,2 would be a bit cramped,but possible.We stop every 3 hours to stretch everyone's legs,so if we get a second dog,he-she will fit.The second one in will have to pass on the pre-plot down maneuvering however.Thanks,Charlie
Working on a project this weekend, I wound up having to rent a 32' extension ladder and haul it on the Highlander roof racks. The guy at Homedepot where I rented it from had made a comment about the roof racks on most SUVs being "bouncy". He was right. This is the first real weight I had put on them. The cross bars will actually bounce up and down like a spring when there is a fair amount of weight on them. Makes your load move around and put unnecessary strain on the compression straps I was using.
Stuffing foam blocks under the cross members drastically reduced the bounce, and made for smoother riding (Having a very large ladder bouncing up and down untop of your car isn't much fun.)
So, if your loading most of your cargo on the roof-racks, you might want to get some foam blocks, and brace up underneath them. My racks held and did the job fine, don't get me wrong, but, you'll be a lot more comfortable with em on.
If you aren't looking for a race vehicle the 4 cylinder is more than adequate. We don't have four wheel drive so that drain is gone. We made a trip with my son and wife's parents as well as our 65 pound spoiled 4 legged child and never experienced any problems. The back seat is great for two but three across becomes a bit crowded. We averaged 28 mpg on the highway.
Having two dogs back there may be a hard issue. Our 4 legged daughter fills up the back; but we have a rail set up that takes up some room.
If I had to choose based on performance and economy; I'd go with the 4 again without a second thought. We love ours and fine no problem with acceleration or maintaining speed. It does just fine going up and over the mountain passes also.
Toyfan,thanks for the reply.I don't need a speed fix,I have the Tundra for that(and it handles the gas guzzling duties also).The 4 cyl has a lot to offer-it is about $2000 cheaper to buy,since they seem to package the V-6 with more options,and it is a 3 mpg better than the V-6.Isis is a lanky 65 or so lbs,so you are probably right about the dog comfort issue.We only have one 4 legged kid now,but we might get another soon,so I will have to "cogitate" on it.(Oh, we also have 3, 4 legged felines,but they stay home;Isis,the greyhound, takes being left behind to heart;the cats don't care as long as the food bowl is full.Thanks,Charlie
We took our highlander to CO this summer and the drive was great. Ours is a '01 4 cyl. 2wd. The 4cyl. is plenty peppy for my in-town jaunts, and does very well on the highway also. You really can't beat the mpg. 2 dogs would probably do ok, w/o the rack in the center of the cargo area. oh and btw, my rat terrier has plenty of room to be hyper in the highlander...
janel34,I like that "hyper in Highlander",I can picture it.We finally ended up with a Honda Pilot just because of the 2 dogs.We tested the Highlander,and they managed to squeeze in behind the back seat,but just barely.The Pilot was a great trip vehicle(New Orleans to Flagstaff(went to CO-Mesa Verde also)-except for the mileage.We probably averaged no better than 17mpg for the whole trip-almost all interstate.Now we drove fast-75-80,and had a roof basket stuffed to overflowing on top,so.....It gets about 14.5 in town,so the mileage isn't great.I bet the 4 cyl Highlander gets 20+ in the city,and 25+ on the hy.
One of our greyhounds is very shy and reserved,the other is the exact opposite-I can see her going "hiper in a Highlander"Luck,Charlie
I bought my Highlander in 2002, and soon after it was listed as a 5 best by Car and Driver.
Since then, there have a been a few new models out there, and the Highlander seems a bit dated. Does anyone agree? I like it, and will keep it, but think other SUV's like the Nissan, Infiniti and VW are nicer looking.
