From the 2010 State Fair of Texas, Cars.com's Patrick Olsen takes a look at the new 2011 Toyota Highlander and Highlander Hybrid. It competes with the Honda Pilot and Chevrolet Traverse.
Transcript
<v Male>Cars.com Auto Reviews. Hi, I'm Patrick Wilson, suburban dad for Cars.com. And we are at the state fair of Texas looking at the 2011 Toyota Highlander. Now the Highlander this year has got more of a refresh really than a redesign.
And it starts with the headlights. They're a little bit lower and more swung around the side than in previous years. And the grill is now wider and deeper. Now the hybrid version of the Highlander has some changes of its own. For example, now it gets a bluish logo in the center of the hood to really tell you, tell other people that you're driving a hybrid. In addition, it gets better mileage, where before it was getting 25 in the highway, 27 in the city, now it gets 28 in both. Well that may not seem like a lot, that's at least 10% Now for 2011, all Highlander models come with a standard third row, which used to be an option in previous years. But I'll tell you, the third row, one, I can't really make the climb back into there. So you need to be a kid to do that. And then the seats are pretty thin. So for long distance driving, it's really better for children. Now using that space on the third row is not too hard. All it takes is a quick jolt to put the head rest down, keep pushing with the one hand to get the floor totally flat. Now the 2011 Highlander starts at about $1,500 more than the base model of last year, but higher trims are not that much more expensive than the 2010 model. Now, if you're watching this video, then you can probably already find this on your dealer's lot near you. <v Man>For more car related news, go to Cars.com or our blog, Kickingtires.net.
