Toyota Highlander 2001 test drive - 2006 SUV
Worker in nature
The world premiere of the Toyota Highlander SUV took place at the Detroit car dealership a little more than a year ago - in April 2000. In December, the car appeared on sale in Japan, in January 2001 its export began in the United States. The company does not and does not plan to supply to Europe. However, Highlander is already in Moscow ...The presentation of Highlander in the United States was not made by chance - the car was created specifically for the American market (it is enough to compare sales in the first months - 2000 pieces in Japan and 6000 in the USA). In the domestic market, the machine is called Toyota Kluger V. The usual foggy name for the Japanese. Kluger translated from German - wise. Well, let. But where did V came from, it remains only to guess. From the V-shaped 3 l of the motor? So the car also has a in -line 2.4 liter of a four. Maybe it's five? Then where are the previous four clubs? Let us dwell on the version that V is Victory, i.e. victory. Presumably, over the rivals. And who is our rivals?
Toyota Highlander is a bright representative of relatively new generation of cars that rapidly gaining strength is medium -sized SUVs, especially popular in the United States. If we proceed from consumer qualities (temporarily distracted from value), the main competitors of Highlander on the American market will be Mercedes ML320,
Volvo Cross Country, Audi Allroad, Pontiac Aztek/Buick Rendezvous and Acura MDX.
Highlander is positioned in the Toyota SUVs are exactly in the middle: below - RAV4 and 4runner, at the top - Sequoia and Land Cruiser. As is appropriate for the SUV, the car is built on a passenger platform (in this case, Toyota Camry) and is equipped with a constant all -wheel drive with an intended viscose coupling (there is also a simpler, front -wheel drive version). Another will ask, what about the Lexus RX300 (motor` #3, 1999), because Highlander has everything like him - the body type, platform, engine, transmission ... Another competitor, from his own stable? Not quite so, but more on that below, but for now we are directly engaged in the car. The exterior of Highlander is not some kind of revelation, everything is done according to the Japanese template: the correct proportions, verified lines, everything is quite calm, and only the original front optics revive the appearance somewhat.
In the cabin, in abundance of skin and wood, in architecture, it is more reminiscent of the interior of a mini-wen. Despite all -wheel drive, the floor is absolutely even. In front of the passenger space of the cabin, a process of the central console with an automatic transmission selector was introduced.
The driver's seat is equipped with electrical adjustments (in passenger they are mechanical) - a longitudinal position, as well as the height and angle of inclination of the pillow. Adjusting the lumbar backup is also electric, but the angle of inclination of the back has to be changed manually. Saved. The software, American traditions, have practically no side support - in sharp turns, you have to desperately cling to the wheel. (Passengers in this regard are even more difficult, because there are no normal pens for which there is no time on the doors, and it is inconvenient to reach for the upper, and the hand will get tired of hanging all the time on it. I must admit that I went too far with speed, but it was painful to observe it. As in a series of fast bends, the rear passenger feverishly looked for an additional point of support, rolling along the seat from one side to the other.)
With the ergonomics of the workplace, everything is in order. High landing, excellent visibility that is forward, what back. The steering wheel with successfully selected diameter and cross section perfectly lays in the hands and does not overlap the instrument panel. The latter is originally made, it consists of three deep wells with devices united by a wooden pad. In the central - speedometer, in the left is a tachometer, in the right - indicators of fuel level, coolant temperature and the selected automatic transmission. Holding switches control the light and wipers in Japanese - with the help of rotating heads. A large microclimate is in charge - you won’t miss - a rotating pen: set the temperature with it, and you don’t think about anything else.
Three strange buttons with an equally strange symbol - a house with an arrow upside down on a driver's anti -loner visor. What's this? Pressing the buttons did not lead to anything, and only detailed study of the instructions revealed that they are designed for the distance control of the garage gates. The handbrake in the name of the flat floor was turned into a scabbard and transferred under the left leg of the driver. In the liberated zone, the cup holders, built into the foundation of the driver's seat, are now being laid out. The lever of the box, visually strange sticking out of the protrusion of the central console, is actually located very conveniently - right at hand, no need to stretch.
Three can sit in the back seat quite comfortably, and no matter how tall kids sits in front, he will not hurt them at all. In case of transportation of cargo, Highlander has a decent trunk. If this space is not enough, the rear seat can be folded both in parts and entirely ...
I open the hood ... It seems that I was deceived - where is the three -liter V6? No, everything is in order - in order to maintain an even floor in the cabin, the power unit was lowered so low that it was simply lost in the well of the engineering space. The motor is from the BEAMS family with systems for changing gas distribution VVT-I and the length of the ACIS-IV inlet tract. The power is very decent, 220 hp. At the same time, during the test, he pleased the extremely modest appetite: 13.5 l/100 km when actively driving around the city.
Surprisingly little visible electric harnesses - multiplex tires are widely used in the car, thirty -weights won this, in addition, reliability increased. After starting the engine, the tachometer arrow freezes around 1000 rpm. - There are no other signs of the work of the motor in the cabin. There are no vibrations at all (thanks to the active engine supports), noise too, and if music plays, you can try to start the motor again.
I press the gas pedal. The engine instantly responds, and it follows ... a light roll of the car in the direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the crankshaft. Yes, the suspension will be soft. But on the go, she showed herself a little differently ... The automatic transmission lever to position D - and go. When the brake is released, the machine begins to roll on idle, and even in the hill, which is very convenient both in traffic jams and on the road. (When we moved from the asphalt to the fragmented ground, the selector was transferred to the L - Low position. The behavior of the car changed when touched, and not for the better. When the brake is released, the car remained in place, and when the gas pedal is pressed in some indefinite The moment jumped forward. We conducted further experiments by returning the lever to position D.)
The fact that Highlander does not shine with geometric cross -country ability immediately (the wheelbase is 2715 mm, the road clearance is 185 mm), however, that he sat on the first hillock of modest sizes from which I did not expect any trouble , was a complete surprise. We pulled the car with an obstacle and hastened to return to the city.
When starting from a traffic light to the floor, Highlander accelerates briskly and evenly, the machine quickly and almost imperceptibly switches the gears, and the mighty motor easily takes the car from the stream. If you sharply press the gas pedal on the go, the car, before starting rapid acceleration, will think a little and only then jerk off the reduced gear. Apparently, the thoughtfulness of the machine is one of the settings for America, most European companies have already got rid of such an ailment. The suspension pleased with its energy intensity and setting. On the smooth waves, Highlander goes slightly swaying, he reacts much tougher to small potholes and fast blows, but without the slightest hint of a breakdown breakdown. The rolls in corners were not as strong as expected, therefore, they are not a limiting factor when choosing a speed.
The steering wheel with a powerful amplifier turned out to be empty and non -informative - especially in the nearovo zone, with an increase in the corner of rotation, the returning force increases, but still leaves much to be desired. Brakes (disk on all wheels) are very effective - they allow you to quickly upset a rather heavy car from high speeds. The effort and stroke of the pedal are almost optimal, which helps to accurately calculate the braking distance. ABS would have worked more late, and it would be very good ...
Let us return to the internal competitor - Lexus RX300. Yes, from a technical point of view, the cars are very similar, although they are very different in appearance. Highlander design is more modest, more conservative - compare at least the rear parts of the bodies. However, the company gives Highlander not as a simplified version of the RX300, but as a car with a completely different character. As for it, you can completely argue, but some differences - in addition to appearance - really exist, mainly in the characteristics of the suspension: Highlander, although it remains in general by a passenger car, in behavior a little rougher, a little more off -road than the RX300. What is in full accordance with the comparative preferences of American buyers Luxus luxury and Toyota workers. 
A few words about prices. In the United States, the basic (rather naked) version of the all -wheel drive Highlander with the V6 engine costs $ 26.500, for the car in full configuration, which includes side pillows and the course of course stabilization, they already ask for $ 34.600 - only $ 1000-1200 less than for the basic versions of the Lexus RX300 and Mercedes ML320. Cool. However, Toyota has long learned how to sell her cars quite expensive - a quality margin. In Russia, prices are different. Highlander, which was on our test, will cost the Russian buyer in 52.800 cu For comparison: Lexus RX300 in full configuration is offered for 55,000.
Text: Alexander Nadens
Source: Motor magazine [No. 6/2001]
