2023 Toyota Highlander Hybrid offers practicality, reassurance

Published 11:45 am Tuesday, May 2, 2023

Toyota’s midsize Highlander Hybrid SUV supplies seating for up to eight passengers, a choice of front-wheel or all-wheel drive, a multitude of standard features, and up to 12 more miles per gallon than the gas-only Highlander.

There are five trim levels of the 2023 Highlander Hybrid: LE, XLE, Bronze Edition, Limited, and Platinum. Prices range from $41,555 to $53,960 with the destination charge included.

Eight-passenger seating involves bench seats in the second and third rows. Available captain’s chairs for the second row reduce seating capacity to seven but create an appreciable amount of extra room and comfort.

The third-row situation is constricted, best suited to small children who don’t fight often. On the upside, the seats flop down flat to align perfectly with the flat cargo floor. The resulting expansive cargo area is flush with the rear bumper, so bulky items can be loaded and unloaded with minimal effort. When it’s time to wedge the kids in again, third-row seats pull up effortlessly.

Highlander Hybrid’s interior is refined and Toyota doesn’t skimp on standard features or technology. My full-boat Platinum AWD test vehicle included 20-inch wheels, a panoramic moonroof with sun shade, panoramic view monitoring, heated and ventilated front seats, heated second-row captain’s chairs, wireless phone charging, a 10-inch head-up display, and a 12.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility, SiriusXM satellite radio, and an 11-speaker JBL audio system.

Silence and gentility are descriptors for the Highlander Hybrid’s roadway performance. The hybrid system delivers 186 horsepower and fuel economy ratings up to 36 mpg city and 35 mpg highway.

As fully electric vehicles become common and are clearly the future (thank God), I shamefully say I like the reassurance of a hybrid’s backup gasoline stash, due to my

overactive imagination and low threshold for panic.

2023 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID PLATINUM AWD

Base price, including destination charge: $53,960

Price as driven: $53,960

Mary Lowry is a member of the Motor Press Guild and a member and past president of the Northwest Automotive Press Association. She lives in Snohomish County. Vehicles are provided by automotive manufacturers as a one-week loan for evaluation purposes only. Manufacturers do not control content of the reviews.