The Highlander has been a highlight for Toyota’s SUV market in the US for a long time. The brute is not only stylish, but it also offers practicality and a frugal powertrain. It comes with a V6 that is capable of producing 295 horses, and even though it isn’t athletic and sporty, it focuses on offering a comfortable ride. Couple this fact with lots of standard driver assistance features and a luxurious interior in the higher trims, the Highlander becomes what it is – the best-selling three-row midsize SUV in the US. But with more and more rivals crowding the segment every next day, can it still hold its own?
2022 Toyota Highlander Dashboard
There are a total of six non-hybrid trims to choose from, so you can put your money where it's worth. The 2022 Toyota Highlander starts at $36,620 and it competes against the likes of Kia Telluride, Honda Pilot, and Ford Explorer.
2022 Toyota Highlander Interior Design, Dimensions, and Comfort
The Highlander’s interior is somewhat old and feels outdated. It isn’t necessarily ugly or out of fashion completely, but it still lacks the modern touch. There are a plethora of buttons and dials at the center stack, which might distract you more often than not while driving. The design isn’t well thought out and certainly not very ‘intuitive’ and ‘friendly’.
2022 Toyota Highlander Front Seats
Although the buttons are within easy reach of the driver, the sheer number of buttons below the center screen makes it a bit hectic and cumbersome. Getting used to this will take some time. Furthermore, the lower trims come with hard plastics, however, you do get the assurance of Toyota’s reliability and durability.
The base trims, namely the L and LE, come with fabric seats, a leather steering wheel, metal-look interior accents, and a leather gear shifter. Upgrading to the XLE will bring you SofTex leatherette upholstery, while the XSE also gets the same material, but with a sportier and more athletic theme.
The Limited trim is from where things start to get fancy. Not only does it get leather upholstery, but it also adds a heated leather steering wheel; simulated wood door panel, dashboard, console, and interior inserts. The Platinum trim builds upon the Limited trim by adding additional color schemes.
A total of 8 people can be seated inside the Highlander in its lower trims. The higher trims come with captain’s chairs in the second row, so the total seating reduces to 7.
The base trim comes with an 8-way power-adjustable driver’s seat and a 4-way manually-adjustable passenger’s seat, with a manual tilt and telescoping steering column. The XLE trim adds 10-way power-adjustable heated driver’s seat with lumbar support; and also an 8-way heated power-adjustable passenger’s seat. The Limited and Platinum trims also include seat ventilation.
The front row is very spacious, and the visibility is commendable. Finding the perfect driving position might be a bit of a stretch, however.
Coming to the second row, the space is good here too. The Highlander offers a reasonable amount of headroom and legroom. Taller people wouldn’t have any problems being seated here. However, the third row is severely cramped with extremely limited headroom and legroom. Only small children would feel comfortable in the third row.
Models
2022 Toyota Highlander
2022 Kia Telluride
2022 Honda Pilot
2022 Ford Explorer
Passenger Capacity
8
7
7
7
Interior Passenger Volume (cubic feet)
136.1
157.1
153.1
152.7
Front row (Headroom/Shoulder room/Legroom) (in)
41.2/59.0/42.0
39.5/61.6/41.4
39.5/62.0/40.9
40.7/61.8/43.0
Second Row (Headroom/Shoulder room/Legroom) (in)
39.4/58.7/41.0
38.8/59.9/42.4
39.9/62.0/38.4
40.5/61.9/39.0
Third Row (Headroom/Shoulder room/Legroom) (in)
36.1/55.0/27.7
37.8/55.3/31.4
38.9/57.6/31.9
38.9/54.6/32.2
The first two rows of all the SUVs are very spacious and roomy. However, the third row is where the crisis for space arises. The Highlander is the one with the least space in the third row. The other SUVs are also not fit for adults, but at least they offer a little more breathing room.
2022 Toyota Highlander Infotainment
All trims of the Highlander come with an 8” touchscreen, except for the Platinum trim that comes with a large 12.3” touchscreen. The system is quite responsive and not too difficult to get used to. Moreover, as you move up the trim ladder, more and more standard features are unlocked.
2022 Toyota Highlander Infotainment System
The base trim comes with Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, Amazon Alexa, advanced voice recognition, Bluetooth, SiriusXM radio, Safety Connect, and Wi-Fi connect. Higher trims add HD radio, Remote Connect, Service Connect, etc. The Limited trim further adds dynamic POI search, dynamic voice recognition, and HD Traffic Real-Time Traffic Display.
Except for the Platinum, all trims get a basic six-speaker setup. However, with the Platinum trim, you get an 11-speaker JBL Clari-Fi sound system with a subwoofer and amplifier.
Key infotainment features
12.3” touchscreen
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
Amazon Alexa
Safety Connect
Remote Connect
HD Traffic Real-Time Traffic Display
Navigation
HD radio
SiriusXM radio
11-speaker JBL Clari-Fi sound system
2022 Toyota Highlander Cargo Capacity
Even with all three rows up, the Highlander offers 16 cubic feet of cargo space. You should be able to do your weekly grocery shopping or get away with a weekend’s luggage without having to put the third row down. With the third down, however, you get 48.4 cubic feet of space, which is more than enough cargo space for an entire family.
2022 Toyota Highlander Cargo Space
With the second row down too, the total capacity increases to 84.3 cubic feet which is enough to store longer items.
Models
2022 Toyota Highlander
2022 Kia Telluride
2022 Honda Pilot
2022 Ford Explorer
Standard Cargo Capacity (cubic feet)
16.0
21.0
16.0
18.2
Maximum Cargo Capacity (cubic feet)
84.3
87.0
82.1
87.8
As you can see, the Highlander is not the most spacious SUV in this segment, but it is also not too bad. It matches the Pilot’s standard cargo capacity but loses out to the Telluride. Both the Explorer and the Telluride are the most practical SUVs among the four.
Additional Interior Storage Spaces
Inside the cabin, you will be presented with a decently sized glovebox, a center console storage, and a total of eight cupholders. Door pockets are also large enough for water bottles and there is also an additional storage cubby below the infotainment screen.
2022 Toyota Highlander Creature Comforts
The Highlander might have its flaws, but the list of standard features is plenty impressive. Even the lower trim comes with a decent set of creature comforts, such as manually-adjustable seats, leather-wrapped steering wheel, tri-zone climate control, 12V power outlet, and Toyota Safety Sense 2.5+.
The mid-trims, like the XLE and XSE, offer a power moonroof, universal garage door opener, leatherette upholstery, heated power-adjustable driver’s seat with lumbar support, power-adjustable passenger’s seat, and more.
The Limited and the Platinum sit on top of the hierarchy and offer heated and ventilated seats, heated steering wheel, second-row captain’s chairs, leather upholstery, heads-up display, and Driver Easy Speak system, which consist of a mic near the driver and can be used to amplify the driver’s voice throughout the cabin.
Verdict
The Highlander is not the best-selling midsize SUV in the US without a reason. Not only is it stylish, but it also comes with a wide variety of options to choose from. The interior of the higher trims is truly upscale and luxurious, while the list of standard features is also impressive. The switchgear layout is a bit cluttered and unorganized, and also not the most modern design-wise. However, despite its flaws, the 2022 Toyota Highlander offers a pretty spacious and practical interior that does the job well.
