4th Generation Toyota Highlander ... A Few Years Off, Maybe 2020?

[rickc5]

The 4th gen Highlander won't hit showrooms until 2020 or thereabouts. However, the HL will undergo a typical mid-model cycle refresh for 2017. This will consist of trim changes, a new version--the SE--and at least one new color. Don't expect too much in this refresh, as Toyota won't change much.

Edited: pics of the updated 2017 Highlander.

 

[toyotafan]

Yeah, just trying to stay ahead off it all, lol. Hopefully they'll start to tease.

 

[rickc5]

I get it. BTW- the 2017 refresh WILL include a new, direct injected engine, with start/stop technology. We'll see how THAT works--I'm a bit skeptical.

Also an 8-speed transmission! Really?

So maybe ignore my previous post where I stated that I thought not much would be changed. This refresh could be interesting.

 

[toyotafan]

The highlander is really turning out to be a very good seller for Toyota. I'm still thinking about getting one for my daily driver.

 

[rickc5]

We like ours well enough. It's a good highway/trip vehicle, comfortable, quiet, good visibility, lots of room & fast enough. Gets reasonable mileage too--like 23-25 most of the time. We may upgrade later--once this "new technology" proves itself. I'm still a proponent of "Never buy the first year of a new model/generation vehicle." On other forums, lots of 2013 owners report some obnoxious problems that we haven't had with our 2014 (2nd year).

 

[toyotafan]

Yeah, that's a good point. I know they keep telling us that these vehicles and all products these days are engineered so well that they get rid of these issues during the final testing of the design phase ... but that's not going to find issues like a/c units that tend to fail when used in hot weather over 75,000 miles when moving between high and low altitude (pressure changes on the systems) ... or alternators that might end up being squeaky, or air flow across the cabin, etc.

 

[Toyota Girl]

I've been thinking about getting a highlander actually. How well can they be equipped to do light trail driving on an AWD model?

 

[rickc5]

Jenny, while the HL would be fine for gravel (or other frequently maintained) roads, and maybe some trails that are relatively smooth, I don't think it would work well for any trails that are rocky/bumpy/rough. Why? Because 1) the ground clearance is minimal, 2) there's no underbody protection--like skid plates, 3) the OEM tires are street tires, and 4) Toyota never intended the HL to be an off-roader. That said, there's no reason you couldn't put on some reasonable off-road tires & try it to see what happens on the trails in Washington. We have a Land Cruiser for our off-road travels here in Colorado, and use our HL for on-pavement.

 

[Toyota Girl]

The 4th gen Highlander won't hit showrooms until 2020 or thereabouts. However, the HL will undergo a typical mid-model cycle refresh for 2017. This will consist of trim changes, a new version--the SE--and at least one new color. Don't expect too much in this refresh, as Toyota won't change much.

Are they working on this now?

 

[rickc5]

AFAIK, yes they are, but we'll need to wait a few months (September) to actually see what's included in the refresh.

 

[toyotafan]

I've not seen any images or artists concept renderings to show what we might expect.

 

[rickc5]

Here's a link to an article in Motor Trend re: the 2017--pretty decent article. Note that the photos of the red one are the new for 2017 SE model.
http://www.motortrend.com/news/2017-...eview/?ref=yfp

 

[toyotafan]

Here's a couple of those pics.

 

[toyotafan]

The 4th gen Highlander won't hit showrooms until 2020 or thereabouts. However, the HL will undergo a typical mid-model cycle refresh for 2017. This will consist of trim changes, a new version--the SE--and at least one new color. Don't expect too much in this refresh, as Toyota won't change much.

Edited: pics of the updated 2017 Highlander.

View attachment 5034 View attachment 5035

This date is getting closer and closer. We'll keep you updated.

 

[Richard Bravo]

Nothing official so far
Still waiting for updates

 

[toyotafan]

The 2020 Toyota Highlander will be available in December 2019.

Read all about it ...

2020 Toyota Highlander available in December 2019

It's just a few months until you can buy a 2020 Toyota Highlander, but here are some of the facts and specs. 2020 Toyota Highlander Facts & Specs The 2020 Highlander will be the 4th generation for this Toyota SUV brand. It was officially unveiled at the New York International Auto Show...

www.toyotatruckclub.com

 

[rickc5]

Even though Toyota calls the 2020 HL a "complete re-design" (same as a new generation), after seeing the photos of the 2020 on the Toyota web site, all I could think was: "Ok, a new grille, but most of the body panels pretty much look the same." I hope that I'm proven wrong when it actually is available.