CARS OF THE WORLD

Toyota Highlander 2023.

Toyota Highlander 2023 for Europe has lost its V6 in favor of a turbo four.

The updated crossover Toyota Highlander 2023 model year has been presented in Europe.

Japanese have not changed the appearance of the car, but added new metallic green «Cypress Green» to the body.

The SUV also got 20-inch glossy black wheels and two new interior upholstery options (beige and ochre).

Its three-row cabin got wireless charging, a virtual dashboard with a 12.3-inch display and a more advanced multimedia system Smart Connect with a screen of the same diagonal.

It is reported that the latter head unit has wireless support for Apple CarPlay interface, cloud navigation and remote control from your smartphone.

The senior versions of the model are equipped with the Smart Connect + complex.

It differs from the base model by the presence of built-in navigation, capable of working without connecting to the Internet.

As for the power units’ lineup, Toyota Highlander 2023 for Western Europe kept the hybrid installation on the basis of 2,5-liter «four» capacity of 248 hp that works with variator and full drive.

But in Eastern Europe crossover kitted out with 3.5-liter V6 engine, but during the current upgrade it was decided to abandon in favor of a 2.4-liter turbo four rated at 269 horsepower (430 Nm), which is familiar to motorists for Lexus NX.

Orders for updated Highlanders in Europe have already started, but deliveries of such cars to local customers will begin only in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Three-row crossover Toyota Highlander of the current, fourth generation was introduced in 2019.

The SUV has not yet received a full restyling, but the next, 2023 model year still brought updates to the Highlander.

Well, the first modernized crossover will be received by the Americans. We shall remind you that the main production site is located in the U.S..

The model is still produced in China, but only for the local market (by the way, not only «just» Highlander, but also Crown Kluger are sold there).

The main thing — in the States «traditional» Highlander-2023 will be offered with gasoline «turbo four» 2.4 series T24S, which will replace the «atmospheric» V6 3.5.

A new engine with a combined injection and dual-flow turbocharger debuted on the second generation Lexus NX crossover, and for Toyota crossover is slightly «strangled»: 269 hp and 419 Nm (Lexus engine produces 279 hp and 430 Nm).

Atmospheric «six» is more powerful (299 hp), but its torque is much more modest (357 Nm).

In the U.S. office of Toyota said that the fuel consumption of turbo has remained at the same level (9.8 l/100 km), has not changed and the allowed mass of the towed trailer (2.3 tons).

Cross is still equipped with eight-speed automatic.

Drive is front or all-wheel drive, and simple versions have transmission with a clutch on the rear axle, whereas the rich versions have Dynamic Torque Vectoring AWD system with individual clutches to connect the rear wheels.

Americans can still choose a hybrid Highlander, his stuffing reforms have not touched: this SUV installation based on the atmospheric «four» 2.5, the total output — 246 hp (regardless of drive).

The American Highlander has other improvements. Thus, the most expensive variants Limited and Platinum now have a virtual «dashboard» with a diagonal of 12.3 inches (in China digital instruments are available initially).

The remaining configurations have analog scales with a 7-inch display, and the basic «dashboard» with a screen diagonal of 4.2 inches was retired.

Multimedia system with 12.3-inch touchscreen is now in the list of standard equipment not only the top-version Platinum, but also a variant Limited, plus it is provided for a fee for simpler versions (XLE and XSE).

Basic multimedia — still with 8-inch display. Finally, the area for wireless charging was moved from the box located between the front seats on the central console shelf.

The exact launch date of the Toyota Highlander-2023 has not yet been announced, as well as prices. The former crossover in the U.S. today costs from $35,855 (excluding shipping and taxes).