2007 Chicago Auto Show: Toyota edges closer to a plug-in hybrid with 2008 Highlander Hybrid

Very disappointed. The Murano has been out for about 4 years now and this is what the Toyota designers come up with. Aesthetically, it looks like a refresh and not a redesign.

Not liking it. It does look like a mixture of a RAV4 and a Santa Fe (especially the taillights and the fender bulges) with a hint of Tundra on the grille. I wouldn't pick it over the Veracruz, the Pilot or the Saturn Outlook (which I think would be its main competition). If I want hybrid, I think I'll go for the Vue or the Escape (even if I lose the third row of seats).

With this RAV4 looking and the one-piece 3rd row, the only contender left for Veracruz is Pilot.
 
The 5-speed tran used in '05/06 models of
 Camry
 Avalon (including '07)
 Lexus ES 330
is a BIG faulty.
 
You can see a massive complaints about that in all forums at Edmunds. I hope this is not the same tran.

WOW, I am so DISAPPOINTED! I am a huge Toyota fan and I have to say that this highlander is extremly ugly and really poorly desighned. I thought that Toyota would display much better vehicle than this one but i guess not. I really would take the Acadia thani this

This will not dissapoint the blue hairs who buy these things.

Impressive that the vehicle is so sub-par, and yet nobody has driven it.
 
FWIW, complaints on the 5A coupled with the 270 hp V6 have been few in the Lexus RX forums...
 
~alpha

No it won't disappoint them--although it looks real good in profile.

Uhm, the Camry V6 gets a 6 speed Auto, as I'm sure the ES350 does as well. This will be the same tranny as the Avalon and Rav4 V6. Why they don't just drop the 6 speed across the line up I wouldn't know.

LOOK AT IT CLOSELY IT IS ALOT BETTER THAN THE PREVIOUS MODEL. I expected it to look like a bigger Rav4 also it has more edge than the current highlander.
 
Don't forget the Toyota Highlander is basically a Camry Wagon in disguise because it is built on a Camry chasis.

The ac vents are weird and that nav screen looks like A FRIGGEN TV SCREEN!! Also the Push button start looks kind of low down. At a stop, people may freak out when they realize their hybrid isn't moving because their neey pressed the stop button.
 
I like how BMW puts the start button in the optimum position and I like how Toyota's doesn't require a key.

One thing positive:
 
 all models except base equipted w/ backup camera, not tied up w/ the Nav.
 
This will set the standard.
 
See toyota.com for more details.

So will the nav use the same screen as the backup cam when equipped with both, or is that little screen between the vents related to either the nav or the backup camera? (or is the backup cam screen someplace else altogether?)

I have no doubt that the engineering of this vehicle is top notch, but up against its competitors, it is on the small side. It is 2.2" shorter, 1.4" narrower, and has 1" shorter wheelbase than the Veracruz which "was" the smallest of the new 3 row crossovers. The middle seat in the 2nd row looks like crap too, and the load floor is not flat. There is a huge gap between the 2nd and 3rd row. The design is totally uninspired. It looks more like a mild refresh than an all new model.

I saw some press pics of a silver one and oddly it looked better than this.
 
I think the outside is only evolutionary. It doesn't look much bigger but that might be seen as a good thing. I thought it would grow more, given the RAV4 already offers a 3rd row.
 
Inside looks great.
 
Modest improvements.

It can't get much bigger if they want to keep from stepping on the Sequoia's toes. Then again, if the next Sequoia is out soon (and based on the new Tundra), it'll be *way* bigger than the current one, leaving plenty of space for a larger Highlander.