Toyota RAV4’s Highlander brother touches down in Europe

One of Toyota’s most popular offerings in North America and Australia, the automaker has provided more details of the European market bound Highlander.

Known Down Under as the Kluger, the Highlander adopts the same principle as the Camry by being offered solely as a hybrid with sales now expanded to include Western European markets in addition to the United Kingdom. Based on the GA-K version of the TNGA platform also used by the Harrier and Venza, the Highlander measures 4 966 mm in overall length with its wheelbase coming in at 2 850 mm, height at 1 755 mm and width at 1 930 mm.

Resembling a stretched RAV4 and providing seating for seven, the Highlander has a claimed boot capacity of 332-litres with all seven pews up and 1 909-litres with the second and third rows down. Depending on the market and trim level, equipment consists of an eight or optional 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a seven-inch TFT instrument cluster, tri-zone climate control, standard 18 or optional 20-inch alloy wheels, a 10.1-inch Heads-Up Display on the range topping Premium, heated electric front seats, electric tailgate, Blind Spot Monitor, projector-type LED headlights and Rear Cross Traffic Alert.

Reserved for the Premium are heated and cooled rear seats with the fronts gaining ventilation, a kick-motion activated electric tailgate, heated steering wheel, an optional panoramic sunroof, perforated leather upholstery, a surround view camera system and an 11-speaker, 1 200-watt JBL sound system.

Notable other safety and driver assistance systems are Adaptive Cruise Control, Pre-Collision with Autonomous Emergency Braking, Lane Trace Assist, Road Sign Assist, Lane Departure Alert, Rear Seat Alert, Auto High Beam Assist and Emergency Steering Assist.

As mentioned, the Highlander follows the same route as the Camry by doing without the 221kW/357Nm normally aspirated 3.5-litre V6 petrol and opting for a 180 kW version of the four-cylinder 2.5-litre petrol combined with an electric motor mounted on the front and rear axles.

With an effective all-wheel-drive configuration, the powerunit is hooked to a revised CVT and able to take the Highlander from 0-100 km/h in 8.3 seconds and onto a limited top speed of 180 km/h. The combined consumption is 6.6 L/100 km with Toyota claiming an all-electric top speed of 125 km/h. Also offered are four driving modes; Eco, Normal, Sport and the off-road focused Trail.

Still to be priced, the Highlander, despite the presence of the Kluger and availability in the UK, is not expected to become available in South Africa anytime soon to fill position between the RAV4 and Fortuner.

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