Editor's Rating: 
The Good: Roomier, improved interior; optional hybrid engine
The Bad: Four-cylinder engine dropped
The Bottom Line: Bigger, faster, and better than the previous Highlander
Reader ReviewsLately, Toyota (TM) has been plus-sizing many of its vehicles, making them bigger and more powerful. Examples are the Rav4 sport-utility vehicle, the Tundra full-size pickup truck, and the boxy Scion xB. Now, the 2008 Toyota Highlander is getting the same treatment.
The new Highlander is several inches longer, wider, and taller than the model it's replacing, as well as being about 300 pounds heavier. That makes it roomier inside, with more legroom and cargo space. Overall, I like the new Highlander much better than the old one. It's a more refined vehicle, with a smoother ride, and a nicer, more sedan-style interior.
The engine is peppier, too. The '08 Highlander is only available with a powerful, 3.5-liter, 270-horsepower V6?55 more horses than the 3.3-liter V6 in the old Highlander. A 155-horsepower, four-cylinder engine that was available on the old model has been dropped.
Happily, the bigger engine hasn't turned the Highlander into a gas hog. It's actually slightly more fuel-efficient than the old model was (when it was equipped with a six-cylinder engine). Under the government's new system for calculating fuel economy, the '08 Highlander is rated to get 18 mpg in the city and 24 on the highway with front-wheel drive and 17 city/23 highway with four-wheel drive. In 302 miles of mixed driving, I got 20.9 mpg in a four-wheel-drive Highlander Sport.
It seems a shame that Toyota has dropped the smaller engine, but the Highlander didn't have much zip with a four-banger under the hood, and wasn't much more fuel-efficient either. If you convert the mileage rating to the new system, the old Highlander with a four-cylinder engine would have been rated to get 19/25 mpg with two-wheel drive and 18/23 with four-wheel drive. The '08 Highlander, with 115 more horses under the hood and a lot more space inside, does almost as well.
The '08 model comes in three trim levels. The base model starts at $27,985 with front-wheel drive and $29,435 with four-wheel drive. Comparable starting prices for the Sport model, which has a sport-tuned suspension and 19-in. alloy wheels, are $30,635 and $32,035. Top of the line is the Highlander Limited, which starts at $33,385 with front-wheel drive and $34,835 with four-wheel drive.
Those prices are only moderately higher than for the previous Highlander: about 2% more for the base model, a bit over 3% more for the Sport, and about 6% more for the Limited. A hybrid-powered version of the '08 Highlander starts at $34,385 for the base model, rising to $40,635 for the hybrid Limited.
Like most Toyotas, the new Highlander comes loaded with standard equipment. Even the base model has 17-in. alloy wheels, a rear spoiler, a six-speaker CD sound system with MP3/WMA capability, cruise control, power doors and windows, and a tilting and telescoping steering wheel. By the time you get up to the Limited, standard features include extra chrome, power adjustable front seats, leather seat and steering-wheel trim, a backup camera, heated outside mirrors, and an auto-dimming rearview mirror.
All versions of the new Highlander come with a full-size spare tire, too. The Highlander Limited comes standard with three rows of seats, but you can get the Base and Sport models with only two rows of seats if you prefer.
Standard safety gear on all models includes seven air bags, among them a knee bag for the driver and cabin-length/roll-sensing side curtain bags that protect all three rows of seats in side collisions. Like other Toyota SUVs, the new Highlander also comes standard with traction and stability control, antilock brakes with brake force distribution, and braking assist.
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