2021 Toyota Highlander

A modern design puts convenience at the forefront, with all your controls within reach. Feel the sporty vibe of XSE every time you enter. With its available red and black leather-trimmed seats with red accent stitching across the instrument panel, you can't help but feel a little more empowered behind the wheel.

Safety that helps you see what you can't. The available Blind Spot Monitor (BSM) is designed to warn you when a vehicle is in Highlander's blind spot on either side. When Highlander is placed in reverse, available Rear Cross-Traffic Alert (RCTA) is designed to detect certain vehicles approaching from either side. If the system senses cross traffic, it is designed to warn you with side mirror indicators and a warning tone.

Enjoy an upgrade in all-wheel-drive performance. Available Dynamic Torque Vectoring All-Wheel Drive (TV-AWD) improves responsiveness and stability by sending up to 50 percent of the power to the rear and then further distributing more power to the wheel that needs it.

Unique to Highlander XSE is a sport-tuned suspension that lets it hug the road a little tighter. Retuned shock absorbers, higher-rate springs and a rear stabilizer bar give you better handling of the road, while its lower, athletic stance shows everyone that it's ready to hit the ground running.

The base L trim has 18-inch alloy wheels, LED projector headlights, side door mirrors with heat and integrated turn signals, and LED taillights. The LE adds a power liftgate and LED fog lights, while the XLE adds a power moonroof and roof rails. The new XSE comes with a sport-tuned suspension, twin exhaust tips, and 20-inch alloy wheels. Stepping up to the Limited gets you LED daytime running lights, puddle lights, 20-inch wheels, and high-output LED fog lights, and the Platinum comes with self-leveling LED projector headlights and a panoramic sunroof.

The Highlander gets power from a 3.5-liter V-6 gas engine that develops 295 horsepower. It comes with front-wheel drive, but any trim can add all-wheel drive, and all models have an 8-speed automatic transmission. The hybrid version of the Highlander has a 2.5-liter four-cylinder gas engine and two electric motors that combined deliver 243 horsepower.

The Highlander will cruise down the highway with little effort. The V-6 has plenty of acceleration and passing power, and the responsive steering makes it easy to maneuver. The all-wheel drive system will send up to 50 percent of the power to the rear wheels when it senses slipping, and the system in the top-level trims can even split the power between the rear wheels.

The Highlander comfortably sits up to eight people in most trims. The XLE, Limited, and Platinum models have second-row captain's chairs, which reduces seating to seven. Cloth upholstery comes standard with the SofTex synthetic leather available along with genuine leather in the higher trims. Heated front seats come in the XLE and above, with ventilated front seats and a heated steering wheel added in the Limited. Standard technology features in the Highlander include Toyota's Driver Easy Speak that sends the driver's voice through the speakers to the back rows, an 8-inch touch screen infotainment screen, Apple CarPlay, Amazon Alexa, and Android Auto, Bluetooth, voice recognition, and four USB ports.

All of the 2021 Highlander models come standard with the Toyota Safety Sense 2.5 suite of safety systems. In addition to the forward collision warning, automatic braking, lane-departure warning, and pedestrian detection, this upgraded system also has lane-tracing assist, partially autonomous emergency steering, and left-turn intersection support. All Highlanders also have a traffic sign recognition system, automatic high beam headlights, a head-up display, and cyclist detection. Front and rear parking sensors, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, a surround-view camera, and a larger head-up display are all available depending on the trim.