The 2006 Toyota Highlander is available with four-cylinder or V6 power, and a choice of front-wheel drive or full-time four-wheel drive. The standard Highlander with the 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine and front-wheel drive performs well around town and on the open highway, delivering responsive performance when merging into highway traffic. Equipped with the larger 3.3-liter V6 and all-wheel drive, the Highlander offers strong power and secure handling in nasty weather.
Need seven seats in your hybrid?
Rating
Written By mkaresh
Date Written Oct 07 2005
Summary
My wife and parents has been pressing me to get a more practical vehicle, something with six or seven seats and a useful amount of cargo volume. An all-wheel-drive vehicle would also be quite useful this winter, as my new community doesn't plow the roads...
Strength
Economy, acceleration, seven seats in a hybrid
Weakness
Styling, steering suffers, front seats undersized, ride a bit busy, extra cost
Bottom Line
Commendable acceleration and fuel economy in a seven-seat SUV. Hopefully the next one will look better and have larger front seats.
The Top Line Sadly not much has changed from the 2005 model (new sports trim and that’s about it) so the Toyota engineers missed a great opportunity to make a few changes into some great changes. However, that said ... I actually liked...
Strength
Good engineering. Safe , Reliable and good at everything. Conservative SUV.
Weakness
Supersensitive steering. Low towing capacity. Conservative. Same as 2005 model.
Bottom Line
Better than I expected. Its a generalist SUV if you want to cover all your bases and not excel at anything. Worth a serious look.
The Toyota Highlander is the top-rated SUV in "Consumer Reports," rated higher than the Nissan Murano, or Pathfinder; the Ford Explorer (by a considerable margin); the Lexus RX-330/350; and all of the SUV's from either BMW or Mercedes. That...
Strength
Quiet, smooth and fast.
Weakness
Hard to enter; pathetically limited front seat room; adversely affected by crosswinds.
Bottom Line
A "Consumer Reports" favorite, but not for those of us in the "real world."
Hybrid with 8-cylinder power with 4-cylinder economy
Rating
Written By waltr
Date Written Dec 20 2006
Summary
Being the owners of a 2001 and 2004 Prius, my wife and I were keen on checking out the 2006 Highlander Hybrid when it came out. On a whim, we stopped at the local Toyota dealer to see if they had one on the lot and were surprised to find they had two...
Strength
Excellent performance, clean running, comfortable, good handling and fuel economy and Hybrid Synergy Drive
Weakness
Pricey with all the bells and whistles. Missing hi-tech features of other Toyota hybrids.
Bottom Line
The Highlander Hybrid to be well designed and extremely well built and are very happy with it. The hybrid system provides a great combination of power and fuel economy.
My wife and I really wanted an SUV but felt the fuel economy on SUV's was too low from both a environmental perspective and a fuel cost perspective. Another concern we had about buying a hybrid was battery failure and engine power. Enter the Toyota...
Strength
Smooth ride, fuel economy (not as good as EPA estimates), safety, power, and stealth mode
Weakness
Price, third row seat too small
Bottom Line
If you are willing to pay the extra money for the hybrid technology, this is a great vehicle to buy!
The other review here does pretty well at describing the HiHy, and I concur with his comments about styling and value. Why'd I buy it? First, I was trying to unload a 2004 Sequoia that was just too big for me and stumbled into a shiny new Hybrid, just...
Strength
Power, fuel economy, fun to drive, Cool factor
Weakness
Styling, price
Bottom Line
If you want an SUV with great power, good mileage, 7 passenger capability, and don't mind spending a bit to get it, this is it. And oh, yeah, it's cool.
Need an all wheel drive that drives more like a car than a truck and has a better fuel economy than other SUVs? Then I recommend the Toyota Highlander. For a city dweller, this was a good compromise moving from a small compact car to a vehicle that can...
Strength
Handles well, the gas mileage is better than other SUVs- comfortable ride.
Weakness
Lower gas mileage than other hybrids
Front passenger seat not as comfortable as drivers seat
The Highlander is a good looking vehicle, especially from rear view. Second row seats are roomy but too firm. The front seats are too small and hard. 20 minutes of driving and you find yourself squirming in the seat. Not enough leg room for me (5'8.5"...
Excellent vehicle for the money, however one thing was overlooked. No rear air vents for 2nd and 3rd row seat. I didn't think of this when I purchased the vehicle, and if you plan on having a vehicle packed with people (in my case children) this is a...
