John Hendow

About 2 months ago I traded in my trusty Toyota Camry for a 2010 Toyota Highlander. I’ve been wanting a vehicle that had greater interior capacity and was all-wheel drive. After looking at a few options, I kept returning to the Highlander as a good balance between wagon / SUV. Now that I’ve driven this car for a few months I have made some interesting observations:

• The Camry had a 4 cylinder engine. The Highlander is a 3.5L V6, is all-wheel drive, and probably 1/3 larger than the Camry. And yet, somehow the Highlander gets better gas mileage. I’m guessing the new car has better efficiency all around, and its performance is being constantly tuned by the onboard computer systems.
• The interior capacity of the Highlander is astonishing. I recently carried six adults in the car without any complaints for space. The third row of seats in this vehicle is actually pretty decent. It made for an easy local commute (to the banana museum, no less!).
• The acceleration characteristics are very good. It’s been a while since I owned a car that I would characterize as “fun” to drive. The Highlander is fun and responsive.