Pushed: 2023 Toyota Highlander Will get Loud in Its Transition to Turbo Energy

How does the Highlander drive?

The new turbocharged 2.4-liter engine produces 265 horsepower and 309 lb-ft of torque. Evaluate this towards the previous V6’s 295 hp and 263 lb-ft, and you will see that the turbo-four makes much less horsepower however extra torque. Whereas Toyota hasn’t quoted acceleration instances but, we anticipate that the 2023 Highlander’s 0-60 mph time will not be too far off the earlier mannequin’s 7.5-second run.

Do not anticipate gasoline economic system to be considerably totally different both — the brand new powertrain will get an estimated 24 mpg mixed with all-wheel drive (25 mpg mixed with front-wheel drive). That is the identical quantity that the present FWD Highlander achieves. Toyota says that the four-cylinder’s NO_x and CO2 emissions are decreased versus the previous V6, however do not anticipate to see large financial savings on the pump.

A lot like this engine does in its Lexus counterparts, it feels extra substantial than you’d anticipate a smaller four-cylinder engine to in a car this massive. Energy supply may be very clean in any respect speeds because of the extra torque. From a cease, whereas accelerating to freeway speeds, or when performing passing maneuvers on the freeway, the engine and eight-speed computerized transmission work in concord to reply shortly to throttle inputs and get the SUV up velocity simply. It isn’t a leap ahead in efficiency over the V6, however it’s an total enchancment — besides in a single space: noise.

Turbo-fours do not actually make nice noises and this one isn’t any exception. Whereas the buzziness at velocity that you simply’d get from a CVT is considerably tamed, the cabin will get very noisy below acceleration when the engine hits round 3,000 rpm. And on downhill grades, the transmission likes to carry the revs a bit larger so that you do not need to lean on the brakes (and with the adaptive cruise management activated) however sadly that triggers the engine to begin to whine once more. I needed to flip up a podcast to have the ability to hear it in these situations.

In any other case, the Highlander drives properly sufficient. In our evaluation of the 2022 Highlander we wrote that “the Highlander makes every day driving a low-effort exercise” and that rings precisely true for the 2023 mannequin as properly. Having a bit much less weight out over the entrance wheels makes the dealing with really feel a contact extra vigorous, however these enhancements are incremental and sufficient to maintain the Highlander barely above common in comparison with the remainder of the category.