2023 Toyota Highlander

The Highlander L starts the lineup with 18-inch wheels, heated side exterior mirrors, and LED headlights. Stepping up to the LE gets you LED fog lights and a height-adjustable power liftgate with remote operation. The XLE adds a hands-free power liftgate, silver roof rails, 18-inch machine-finished alloy wheels, and a power sunroof. You'll get 20-inch black alloy wheels with the XSE, which also adds a low front spoiler, black roof rails, and color-keyed side rocker panels with chrome trim elements. The Limited has power-folding side mirrors, and the Platinum adds a panoramic sunroof.

All the gas-powered Highlander models use the new 2.4-liter turbo four-cylinder engine. It puts out 265 horsepower and gets 309 pound-feet of torque. The gas powertrain works with Toyota's eight-speed automatic transmission, which sends power to the front wheels with the standard configuration. All-wheel drive is available as an option for any of the trim levels.

The new four-cylinder turbo engine is an upgrade from the V-6 in terms of acceleration and thrust when needed. It will easily power the Highlander up steep inclines, even when it's filled with people or gear. The XSE is the sporty version of the Highlander and comes with a sport-tuned suspension that is fun to take over winding roads. The optional all-wheel-drive system comes with torque vectoring, which will send extra power to the wheels that need it to maintain a good grip on the road.

There's room for up to eight people in the Highlander when equipped with the second-row bench seat. If it has captain's chairs, seating is reduced to seven. Cloth upholstery comes in the lower trims, but the LE gets a leather-wrapped steering wheel. Step up to the XLE for simulated leather upholstery and heated front seats, or move further up the lineup for leather upholstery, ventilated front seats, and driver's seat memory functions. The top two trims have the new 12.3-inch touchscreen for the infotainment system and an 11-speaker JBL stereo system.

Every 2023 Toyota Highlander comes with Toyota Safety Sense 2.5+. This bundle includes a forward collision warning system with mitigation, adaptive cruise control, automatic high-beam headlights, and lane-keep assist. It also comes with a traffic sign reader. The LE trim and above all have a blind-spot monitor and rear cross-traffic alert, and the Limited and Platinum add front and rear parking sensors. The Platinum also comes with adaptive headlights, a digital rearview camera, a 360-degree surround-view camera system, automatic windshield wipers, and a head-up display.