2004 Toyota Highlander Review

Specifications

The Ultimate Babysitting Tool

I love kids and seem to find myself around them quite often. I dont have any of my own (yet), but to compensate I baby-sit. When I have a spare minute, or few hours, I take care of a few wonderful little monsters (munchkins). They are now old enough to know why every time I show up at their house I am driving a new car. They think this is “sooo cool” and therefore this makes me their favorite babysitter. But I am not the coolest babysitter because of the cars I drive, I also let them stay up late and eat lots of junk food.

The other week when I went to hang out with the little rug rats, I pulled into the driveway in a stylish silver SUV. I was greeted with warm smiles and the question, “What car do you have this week?” I explained that I was driving a 2004 Toyota Highlander with 4WD and that it had a third row of seats in the back. Their faces totally lit up. Their next reaction was, “Can we sit in the back, please, please?” Of course, I replied, but not until we had to go to T-ball practice.

I could relate to where the kids third row seating enthusiasm stemmed from. As a child I remember that one of my friends parents had a Mercedes-Benz station wagon with the seats in the trunk. Every time we would go anywhere in that car, I was always in the back waving at fellow commuters. Although the third row seating concept is not new to cars, it is new for the 2004 model year of the Highlander.

The new Highlander 4WD V6 7-passenger model is the latest and greatest addition to the Highlander lineup. In addition, two other trims are offered: the Highlander FWD and the 4WD V6 Limited. Also new is the more powerful and refined V6. Its the same 3MZ-FE 6-cylinder also found in the Lexus RX 330 - good company to keep. The 3.3-liter, 24-valve, DOHC V6 with Variable Valve Timing intelligent (VVT-i) and sequential multi-port fuel injection produces 230 horsepower at 5,600 rpm and 242 lb-ft of torque at 3,600 rpm.

I liked the grunt of the Highlanders V6. It delivered ample power to get me around town efficiently, especially with the kids chirping away in the back seat. They enjoyed themselves as I chauffeured them to T-ball and school. The optional all-leather interior definitely made the ride more comfortable and fun for all of us - ever try to clean up junk food set into cloth seats? Sitting up front, however, I almost felt guilty about not letting them know about the heated seats - not. Oh how I love those heated seats. It wasnt particularly cold and I dont think it was really necessary to have them on, but the heat just feels so nice on my tired and sore back.

I also found it nice to take a brake from shifting gears. Harnessing the added power of the V6 engine is the new 5-speed Super ECT (electronically controlled) automatic transmission. The Super ECT was designed to manage shift decisions based on engine speed and load, making changing gears smooth and seamless. Again, if its good enough for Lexus then… oh well, enough said.

Handling is also impressive. Although the Highlander is beefy in size, it doesnt drive like a boat. It was stable and maintained composure in twists and turns due to its fully independent suspension incorporating MacPherson struts and an anti-vibration subframe up front, plus coil springs, gas-filled shock absorbers and a stabilizer bar at both ends.

But aside from handling and the horsepower, whenever I have children in my car safety is the first thing I think about. Does the vehicle have ABS if I need to stop rapidly for some reason? Is it sturdy enough to resist any impacts? Are their airbags? Yes, yes, and yes. While the Highlander featured all the needful safety features, its high quality surroundings also made it feel secure enough to transport kids in. It comes standard with dual front airbags, child protector rear door locks, a tire pressure monitoring system for its P225/70R16 all-season radial tires, 4-wheel disc brakes with ABS and Electronic Brake force Distribution (EBD), and new for the 2004 model year is the vehicle stability control (VSC) with traction control (TRAC).

The safety features dont stop there. My test Highlander, as well as all other 2004 Highlanders feature an impact-absorbing body that helps disperse frontal and side impact forces before they reach the occupants, and a high strength structure that minimizes cabin deformation. Like I said, security is my number one priority whenever I have kids in the car and I am happy to say that the Highlander provided exceptional active and passive safety.

If kids arent in the car and I am driving with my boyfriend or girlfriends, “tunage” is high on the priority list. The husky Highlander comes standard with a 6-speaker AM/FM/CD sound system with a cassette player. The 6-speakers were distributed well throughout the cabin, allowing clear sound quality from the drivers seat to those in the third row, making sing-a-longs a joy for everyone. No, we did not listen to Raffi or Charlotte Diamond, but instead turned up the smooth soundings of The Backstreet Boys and Avril Lavigne! Not my first choice in music but nevertheless entertaining.

Other standard features in my V6 4WD model include keyless and illuminated entry, power door locks and windows, air conditioning, tilt steering, privacy glass, a roof rack, and front and rear cupholders. Gotta have the cupholders!

Optional features included in the “B Package” (equipped in my test car) were the new front heated seats, leather seating surfaces, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, power drivers seat, aluminum alloy wheels, and wheel locks.

The cabin of the Highlander is quite spacious with 32.1 cubic feet of room with the seats up and 91.4 cubic feet with the seats down. When the kids were not in the car, the third row seats were folded flat making room for all of my miscellaneous items. However, when the kids did occupy the third row there was not a lot of legroom for them, but it wasnt an issue. Speaking from experience, an adult would not fit comfortably in the last row, especially someone reasonably tall.

Fuel consumption was what I expected, not awful but hardly forgiving considering todays stratospheric gas prices. The V6 fuel consumption is 22 mpg in the city and 31 mpg on the highway, not great but about what I expected for a vehicle in this class? Despite its thirsty nature the Highlander V6 is certified as an ultra low emissions vehicle due to its efficient, lighter weight, and VVT-i engine technology. I still remain puzzled as to how an SUV can be an ultra low emissions vehicle, but then again Toyota has a history of producing ultra-clean vehicles - speaking of which, a new hybrid gasoline-electric (HEV) version of the Highlander is due to come out in about a year.

Back to babysitting, at the end of the night the kids gave the 2004 Toyota Highlander a bunch of gap-toothed smiles and two thumbs up each. At the end of my test week I felt about the same, minus the missing teeth.