Toyota Highlander
Looking for a family-friendly vehicle? Our
husband-and-wife team of car enthusiasts, Royce and Angela
Pedersen, check out the Toyota Highlander
What he says
When buying a family car, you want a vehicle that will provide
safe, reliable motoring for the years ahead. And when it comes time
for an upgrade, you don't want to be stuck with a lemon that's out
of vogue and relatively worthless compared to its original value.
Toyota has a reputation for vehicles
that last forever, and they retain their value due to the longevity
and popularity reflected in their fleet's reliability, safety,and
simplicity.
The Toyota Highlander touts its "best of
breed" status among its rivals and when you look at what it has to
offer today's modern family, you'll be impressed. While some might
say it's essentially an oversized, extra-heavy Camry with a few
more bells and whistles, I'd rebut that it's in a class of its own,
with the driver comfort, performance, and handling of a luxury
saloon.
When I took the 2011 Toyota Highlander for
a test drive, I was suitably impressed with the simple, stylish
exterior design. Upon closer inspection, I feel it could have been
a little more aggressively styled, perhaps with the addition of
fancier wheels. In spite of there being a logical reason for
headlights that stick out an inch or so from the car - the
headlights protrude a good inch in order to give better
visibility of light around the vehicle - I think it looks ugly!
Great idea in theory, but I can't see all the other car makers
rushing to copy it.
The interior definitely has the X-factor,
with a feel of quality and luxury. It's larger in every way than I
had expected, yet didn't feel boxy and oversized like a van. The
driver environment (cockpit) is well-designed and all the important
controls are where I need them. The feature I really like is the
Bluetooth connectivity for your mobile phone or music player.
Satisfactory technical information is available via the centre
console display. I usually set it to the economy/fuel usage setting
so that I can monitor how economically (or not) I am driving. Fuel
usage is advertised as 11L/100km; however, I found this to be more
like 15L/100km around town. I could get the acclaimed 11L/100km,
but only cruising on the motorway.
Driving the Highlander is a pleasure
thanks to the 270hp V6 motor which is happily responsive, and gets
you moving without any lag from turbos or gimmicky electronics. The
latest model of four- and six-cylinder engines have been tweaked
for better torque, which is what you want for ease of driving. When
on a long journey you'll enjoy the softness of the ride while still
feeling well-connected to the road, but on some corners you'll find
that the bigger and faster the corner, the less responsive it
feels. It's still responsive in the steering and you can feel an
adequate degree of what the car is doing on the road, and that is
important.
At the end of the day, I felt happy to be
driving my family around in this car/SUV/crossover. Whatever you
want to call it, it screams family-friendliness and quality that
will endure for years. With airbags for every passenger and a very
adaptable passenger seating configuration, I feel the Toyota
Highlander is a winning pick for the family who wants a vehicle
that can really take them places in style while offering
comfort, safety, and performance.
What she says
From the moment I sat in the 2011 Toyota Highlander, I felt "on top
of the world". There were a few things I noticed immediately: 1) It
was quiet, 2) I sat high, and 3) It felt sturdy and safe.
Fortunately, I had recently been taken on
a tour of the car by the team from Toyota, so I had a good
understanding of the car's features, not only in terms of safety
and drivability, but also those thoughtful conveniences that show
Toyota thinks of the Highlander as the ultimate family car.
Safety features abounded. The car boasts
full curtain and front airbags so passengers are cushioned in the
event of an accident. The rear-view backing camera will put your
mind at ease when reversing, especially in light of recent
publicity around driveway safety, as there have been several tragic
accidents involving parents backing their cars without seeing their
children playing in blind spots behind the vehicle.
I loved the fact that I could use
Bluetooth to connect my iPhone to the car and use my phone and the
music stored therein through the car's stereo, a great feature
meaning I could listen to what I wanted to, as well as tune in to
The Wiggles and Hi-5 when the kids were with me.
Our three children currently sit
in a single row in the backseat of our own family vehicle, and
the Highlander fit all three of their carseats without any trouble.
I loved that our Recaro car seat could be "clicked" in securely to
the Isofix bar within the seat frame, which meant there was no need
to spend half-an-hour installing each car seat as tight as possible
with the safety belts and H clips.
The extra two seats at the rear of the car
are great. These seats, when laid down, comprise a very spacious
boot area. They have standard seat belts and can be pulled up
individually, so if you need to keep some groceries or a pram in
the car and have the other seat in use, there is plenty of room to
do so. Another great feature is that the centre seat console in the
backseat can also be ejected to create two individual seats for the
two backseat passengers. I don't know about you, but I've often
wanted to separate the kids in the back from fighting and taking
toys off each other, so this feature is a Godsend - I can put
another child in the rear seat so all three are separated and,
hopefully, happy.
There is one thing that you don't get from
simply sitting in your new Highlander without understanding Toyota
better as a brand and company, and that is their commitment to New
Zealand families. Toyota significantly supports Parents Inc in
their educational programmes to equip our children with information
on drugs, sex, and growing up. Parents Inc is a not-for-profit
organisation with programmes in 90% of New Zealand schools teaching
kids in a relevant way the importance of thinking through their
choices in life. Toyota's values are impeccable from the top down,
and it really shows their true ethos in their advertising campaign
slogan, "Believe." Good on you, Toyota, for investing in Kiwi
families.
Royce and Angela Pedersen are the parents of three children:
Ella (5), Eva (3) and Jesse (18m). Angela is OHbaby!'s Managing
Director and Publisher.
As seen in OHbaby! magazine Issue
12: 2011
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