2024 Toyota Highlander: Stands High Among SUVs?

The Highlander is a crucial SUV for Toyota as it caters to a wide range of audiences with multiple powertrains, drivetrains, and trim options. 

In the world of three-row SUVs, the Toyota Highlander is certainly one of the most recognizable nameplates. However, with the advent of bigger and more capable SUVs from the competition and Toyota itself, the three-row SUV segment is heating up. However, the Highlander received a minor refresh just last year. This year, Toyota has eliminated the base L, making LE the base trim. 

Also, the bronze editions of the Hybrid and Hybrid XLE models are discontinued. To keep things interesting, there are LE Nightshade and XLE Nightshade for the hybrid trims. Although costly, the 2024 Toyota Highlander Hybrid trims are recommended for more miles per gallon. Today, I will be reviewing the 2024 Toyota Highlander Platinum trim to check out if its $49,725 price tag is worth it. 

2024 Toyota Highlander Price For Non-Hybrid Trims

High On Styling

The front fascia of the 2024 Highlander has the nice Toyota grille shape in the gloss black finish, and there’s chrome accents to the Toyota logo. The Platinum trim exclusively gets the silver accent down on the lower fascia, and if you choose the XSE trim, you have a totally different face. The Highlander XSE gets a more aggressive front bumper design for a sportier appearance. 

Now, when it comes to the lighting, you are going to have LED lighting standard across the lineup; however, with the Platinum, we have the most premium LED headlight arrangement with full projector LEDs, which are also adaptive. However, you do have an incandescent turn signal and then an LED daytime running light. As we come down to the center section here, we also have an LED fog lamp.

Coming to the rear design, you continue to find the same signature Highlander look that it's had for a few years, and there are a little bit of extra details for the Platinum trim level. Compared to the Grand Highlander, it's going to have a little bit less of a boxy look, and it's fine that way. I want to point out that we do have an exposure wiper down on the rear glass, and as far as our tail lights are concerned, we have an LED brake light portion, an incandescent reverse light, and an incandescent turn signal, so one out of three elements is LED. 

I definitely would like for Toyota to maybe upgrade the tail lamp unit, especially for the Platinum model, to be full LED. As we head down to the lower area, we do have the Platinum branding and a special silver finish at the bottom of the bumper. Of course, as you choose different trim levels, the lower finish changes. 

I do want to point out that you get exposed exhaust outlets on the Sporty XSE, and the same is missing here. Now moving on to the wheels, you've got a lot of different choices for all the different trim levels, beginning at 18-inch alloys and ranging up to 20-inch alloys. The Platinum trim’s multi-spoke wheels have been my favorite, and they continue to look really nice in person with their kind of darkened chrome look. 

Now, in terms of ORVMs, you do have the turn signal indicator; blind spot monitoring will be standard across the board, and if you choose the Limited or the Platinum, that's going to get you power folding but not auto dimming functionality. Looking at the side profile of the regular Highlander, you're definitely going to notice that this isn't quite the Grand Highlander, as the Grand Highlander has a little bit more of a boxy shape, and it's also going to be quite a bit longer than this Highlander. 

The Highlander comes in at about 194 inches in overall length, and the Grand Highlander is over 200 inches long. There is quite a substantial difference between these two models when it comes to overall length. As far as the design elements are concerned, we have some chrome on the lower part of the windows. We also do have roof rails up top, and there’s an option to have crossbars as well.

Well-appointed Interior!

Toyota offers a Highlander-branded key fob and a Toyota Smart entry system on board, and that does mean to get inside, all you have to do is reach behind the handle, and that will unlock the door and fold out the mirrors. Inside, we have a very premium-looking interior, especially with the platinum trim. A great place to start off is the seating, materials, and color choices. 

Inside the Highlander, there's more function than form. However, Limited and Platinum trims add some bling 

So the Highlander will begin with a cloth seat on the LE, and all of the middle trims are going to come with SofTex faux leather. Upgrading to the Limited or Platinum trims gets you real leather. Specifically on the Platinum, though, you get the quilting in the center. I particularly love glazed caramel upholstery, and this is an exclusive color choice on just the Platinum trim level in addition to that quilting.

The Toyota Highlander's interior is much better than its predecessor but still falls short against the competition.

Now, in terms of the seating, there’s a 10-way power-adjusting seat with a two-way lumbar. All models will have a power-adjusting seat, and we also, of course, have memory seats, which are included in the Platinum trim. Inside the cabin, the first thing I want to talk about is the material quality of the rest of the cabin. So starting out with our door trim, you're going to notice a lot of glazed caramel leatherette all through here with the stitching detail. We also have a wood or faux wood accent with the Limited or Platinum trim levels.

As we move to the upper dash, you're going to find a nice soft touch material across, and it does have a stitching detail. The center section is finished with a kind of aluminum-looking trim, and then there is leatherette down the console. The Grand Highlander doesn't have faux wood trim, even on the top model. So, I do like the way everything looks and feels. It's a very premium feeling and certainly feels kind of like a Lexus RX inside of this cabin. With the push button started, the gauge cluster is the first kind of feature to talk about.

The lower trims are going to come with a 7-inch multi-function display, and the upper trims are going to come with a 12.3-inch full digital gauge cluster. Of course, this is reconfigurable, and it changes when you switch drive modes. The Platinum trim also has a head-up display with a lot of nice information projected up. 

Coming to the steering wheel, most models are going to have a leather-wrapped steering wheel. Also, steering wheel heating will be on both the Limited and Platinum as standard features. However, I want to point out the fact that the steering wheel is actually heated just on the side and not on the top and bottom.

Now let's talk about interior storage. It’s still a family SUV after all, and there’s plenty of storage cubbies. Opening up the console, there’s quite a bit of space as it’s deep. You have two cup holders near it as well. Toyota has a lot of cool storage solutions here because we do have a shelf with a wireless phone charging pad, and then on the passenger side, you have another shelf that is still lined in perforated leather. We also continue to find a nice traditional-style shifter, and it feels nice in the hand. 

When we go in reverse, you're going to find a 360° camera system with the Platinum trim level and get a nice overhead view of the car. It is also one of the things that was upgraded last year to kind of give you the latest resolution, just like the Lexus products. Coming to the climate controls, there is a three-zone control here, and it is standard across the Highlander lineup. I do like that Toyota includes all the nice physical controls.

We also have three-stage heated seats, which you get once you get to the XLE trim level, and then getting to the Limited trim level will unlock the three-stage ventilated seats. Another thing we have physical control over is our audio systems, so there's going to be some different audio choices on the trim levels, of course, but we have the 11-speaker JBL Premium Sound System. 

Yeah, so overall sound quality sounds quite nice, and it certainly is going to be an upgrade over that base sound system. The 12.3-inch infotainment display gets Toyota's newest software, and it was a big improvement they added with the refresh last year. Everything feels nice and responsive. We also do have built-in navigation once you actually activate it. Importantly, you have wireless Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay abilities now with the Platinum trim level. 

As we rise above, there’s a special digital camera rear view mirror, and many models also have auto dimming. On the top, there’s a very nice full-panoramic sunroof. Coming to rear seats, you are going to get Captain's chairs as standard equipment on XLE trims and above.

Now you can opt for bench seating in some of the other trim levels if you'd prefer not to have the captain's chairs. However, the Platinum trim is exclusively a captain's chair setup.

A cramped third-row and less cargo space are major cons of the Highlander 2024 model

Coming to the third-row seats, for a full-size adult, it's not going to be too comfortable back. I will just go ahead and point out that the Grand Highlander has a much larger third row, so if you're going to be using the third row all the time, I would recommend getting that instead. Coming to the cargo area of this Highlander, there’s a maximum of 84 cu-ft of space with all seats down, while with all seats up, it's just 16 cu-ft, which is disappointing. However, the good thing is access to that car's space with the hands-free power-opening feature.

High On Performance

Under the hood, we continue to find a 2.4-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine on most models. It replaced the older V6 engine. The engine makes 265 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque. It is mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission. You can choose between front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. The 2024 Highlander Platinum AWD can do a 0–60 sprint in a matter of 7.2 seconds, while a quarter-mile run is completed in 15.5 seconds.

With all that power, even the tiny 2.4-liter engine can tow up to 5,000 pounds without much effort, while the hybrid trims can tow just 3,500 pounds. 

Easy-Peesy To Drive 

Getting behind the wheel of the 2024 Highlander gives you a hint of all that extra torque as compared to the older V6 engine. The motor feels quite refined and peppy-like. However, one thing to notice is that the new engine feels a bit loud on cold starts or when thrashing hard; there’s a little bit of noise intrusion into the cabin. Toyota uses the same engine in the more premium Lexus RX as well.

Inside, there’s about 60 decibels of cabin noise while driving, which is pretty decent, I would say.

Cruising on the highway makes it a comfortable and non-tiring experience. The overall ride quality is phenomenal, and the Platinum trim gives you that Lexus feeling. It also feels a bit more maneuverable than the Grand Highlander. Even the chassis tuning feels a bit more sporty than the Grand Highlander. Personally, I have zero complaints when it comes to the driving experience and comfort.

MPG Report Card 

As per Toyota, the 2024 Highlander mpg ratings are 22 mpg in the city, 29 mpg on the highway, and 25 mpg in combined driving conditions. However, opting for all-wheel drive results in a minor drop in those ratings by 1 mpg. You can expect up to 21/28/24 mpg in city, highway, or combined conditions.

Will The 2024 Toyota Highlander Stand High On Your Expectations?

If you are looking for a no-nonsense three-row SUV in the $50K price segment with decent space, comfort, and efficiency, then the Toyota Highlander is best suited to be your next car. However, if you wish to travel with your whole family, then the last row comfort and lack of enough cargo space for all passengers can be a bit frustrating.  In that case, you can opt for the 2024 Grand Highlander by spending a few grand more. The Chevy Traverse is also a good option for better passenger and cargo space in the midsize SUV segment.