Used 2021 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Platinum 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT) Consumer Reviews
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Only had for a few days, but WOW! Vs. Venza.
Luckyme, Immokalee, FL, 05/09/2021
updated 11/11/2022
Toyota Highlander Hybrid Platinum 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)
86 of 86 people found this review helpful
I made a rash decision and purchased a 2021 Venza Limited, fully loaded. They, as the Highlander are in high demand, and dealers did not have either Hybrids to test drive. I chose the Venza based on a sleeker look in photos, on line review, etc. But, after just 3000 miles on the Venza, I knew I made a mistake. The Venza was too small, rides a bit stiff and road noise was irritating from a Luxury-like vehicle. May be the tires, but the insulation from road noise is just not there. Not at all feeling like a $42K vehicle. I’ve owned numerous Toyota Hybrids, and the Venza felt more like a Prius with lipstick and high heals to dress it up. Nothing wrong with the Prius, it has a purpose. This brings me to the Highlander. I traded the new Venza (took my hit), for the Highlander Platinum, and I wish I’d have gone with the Highlander first. I did not look at it seriously due to the family hauler aura, style was not my favorite, and 3 rows of seating. We are semi-retired and I did not think I needed the space, but I did. It’s a solid vehicle, feels much more substantial and drives much smoother than the Venza. Quiet for a Hybrid (Not quite as refined as my wife’s Lexus ES300 Hybrid) and has plenty of power. The first drive from the dealer, about 120 miles of highway at 70-78 mph resulted in 32 MPG. I’m OK with that. It looks to be maybe 35 mpg in mixed driving (Venza was about 39) so I’m happy with that. So much more space, infotainment and technology is a step up with some knobs and buttons, as I don’t like 100% touch screens. Interior fit and finish is excellent (Kudo’s to our friends building these in Indiana, USA!). Toyota Hybrids are some of the most dependable cars on the road, and I believe we have a winner. Update 11/22: 30K miles and not a single issue. Nothing needed but the 10K oil service. Well made vehicle.
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A Real Dream Boat
Sarah Audrey, Odenton, MD, 03/21/2021
Toyota Highlander Hybrid Platinum 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)
91 of 92 people found this review helpful
You should not make your first impression of the mpgs of this vehicle in the dead of winter. Hybrids are known to struggle with mpgs below freezing. I got my Highlander Hybrid in December, and have been getting around 28mpg on the coldest days, but once the outside temperatures reach 45 and up, I'm getting well over the estimated 35mpg, often 38mpg with combined suburban and highway driving. Besides, no conventional engine 7 or 8 seater touches this vehicle's winter mpg, even. My only complaint is there is a bit of a whistling noise at high speeds, maybe from the driver's side mirror, or the roof rails. I like that the rear ac/heat vents are placed above the seats, this is an ideal position for passengers who are still in rear-facing carseats. You could pay just as much or more on the competition Japanese rival vehicles, and will be putting much more gas into them even in winter, and making more maintenance trips without the hybrid engine due to stress on components like brake parts, etc. I cannot stress enough what a great vehicle this is. I've owned Swedish, German, Korean, and American vehicles but I keep coming back to Toyota. The 2021 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Platinum AWD is the best car I've ever owned.
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2021 Toyota Highlander Hybrid for sale near you
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- Platinum 4dr SUVMSRP: $48,99954 mi away
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Country Roads, Take Me Home
Gerald Moore, Smithfield, WV, 04/26/2021
updated 10/31/2023
Toyota Highlander Hybrid Platinum 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)
40 of 41 people found this review helpful
If you drive on twisty two lane roads in moderately hilly country and encounter very few stop lights you can get far better than the EPA rating. Perhaps 3-4 mpg better. There is only one stop light in the county I live in. I live out of town on roads without painted lines. With only a couple fill-ups so far I'm absolutely amazed at the gas mileage. The car rides smooth, is a joy to drive and is not noisy at all. The people complaining about engine noise and lower than expected milage must be talking about high speed interstate travel which I rarely ever encounter. Update: I've make a couple long trips on interstate. Interstate mileage is 38 mpg. My typical local milage has been 39 to 41 mpg per tank. My other car is a 2028 Mazda cx-5, Can't believe that I think the Highlander handles better. Maybe I need new tires on the Mazda? 5000 miles so far and I love my Highlander. 2/23/22: Really nice. Smooth, gliding ride, handles turns unexpectedly well. I like driving it. Perhaps more than my Mazda CX-5. Seems well made and worth the money. I don't use third row and have the platinum with captains chairs. Never need to carry more than 4. Would like third row removable. I don't like how fast forward works on podcasts, too slow. Other than that it's hard to find fault. I've had no trouble exceeding 36 mpg on every tank full. Had it nearly a year now and no problems at all. Plenty of power for me and comfortable ride. Nothing much compares if you want a hybrid SUV with some size to it. Just had my one year free oil change and check. Still loving it. It's spring and gas mileage is back up around 40 from a low during winter of 37. Update 10/29/22, year and a half owership. Had to call roadside assistance. They sent someone quickly, started the Highlander started with a jumper battery. They and re-set the error codes at the dealer. The problem was Iistened to the radio (accessory mode) for over two hours waiting on my wife at the doctor. I didn't know that you could deplete the 12V battery so quickly. Unless the lead acid battery is above a certain voltage you aren't permitted to start the car (software). I now use headphones listen to podcasts and avoid accessory mode for extended periods. I carry a small jump-start battery too. Owners should be made aware. I still love the Highlander, still getting 38-40 mpg, still quite and smooth. No other issues. 2 1/2 years ownership. All is well. At my last free maintenance check/oil change they informed me of tire wear and brake pad wear. It seemed to me that it was excessive. They said both were about 1/3 worn. I drive very conservative and use regenerative braking almost exclusively to get max mpg. Nearly all miles were local non-interstate at or below 55 mph. Miles driven was about 14,000. These findings don't make sense. At this rate I'll need brakes and tires at 45K. I've been told regenerative braking saves on brake pads and slow gentle driving saves on tires. Otherwise, though, I love the car as much as before. No other issues. Highly recommend. 10/31/2023
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Great car, this one for me not too reliable.
Bryan Casiano, Palm Bay, FL, 09/05/2021
Toyota Highlander Hybrid Platinum 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)
28 of 29 people found this review helpful
Well, I had this vehicle for 2 months now. So far it was a great vehicle, we purchased the platinum hybrid model. It has everything on it and more. Problem is that this past week, I had towed the vehicle to the dealership twice. Vehicle runs good, shut down and don't want to start back on unless it gets jump. I think you shouldn't have to do that on a brand new car with less than 1k miles on it. If I didn't had that problem, will give it 5 stars. The mechanic at the dealership doesn't know what the problem is so far.
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Disappointing features
JLx5, Boise, ID, 07/25/2022
Toyota Highlander Hybrid Platinum 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)
8 of 8 people found this review helpful
Heated passenger seat half the time not functioning. When functioning, it was barely noticeable on the highest setting. The driver heated seats function great on all heat settings. The report said "unable to duplicate customer complaint. The second time bringing the vehicle back in a service technician spent an hour with me and my vehicle going over all vehicle issues. He noticed and agreed the same. He stated he would need to do some research to figure out why it's doing this and get back with me. He never did. I made another appointment and when report came back, "unable to perform customers complaint." Ventilated seats function better on driver seat than on passenger seat. Unnoticeable. After riding in the car on hot days and cabin cooled. This was addressed at previous service and report stated "unable to perform customers complaint" But when going to drive away with it, it never adjusted and the whole cabin was blowing hot air. It was 90⁰ outside. The a/c quit working. It never cooled down when they brought the vehicle around from having the 5,000 mile serve done. It ran a few minutes no change. Drove it in the parking lot no change. After 7 minutes I was so hot. I turned around and brought it back. The other employees in the toyota service department agreed this was an issue but it was closing hours so I had to make another appointment to bring it back in. In stop and go traffic I was glad my grandchildren in rear facing seats were not with me. They ended up fixing the a/c but not the issue with the seats not ventilating to ambient cabin temperature. My spouse's and my bottom were still hot and our back remained sweaty. Howerver, when I brought it in for it's 10000 mile service, it began functioning fine. After picking up the vehicle and driving off the lot. don't know why but it has been working without issue ever since. Difficult entry for taller persons not being able to adjust the height of the seat. Toyota dealerships (and other dealers) are taking advantage of customers by adding on extra unnecessary fees to put more dollars in pocket for the sales and dealership. Subaru pointed this out. No I haven't bought a subaru. But the man who owns the Subaru dealership also owns a Honda dealership, toyota dealership. Explained that at their other dealership, this is what happening all over the US. He explained why it was not necessary and that not all dealerships do it. But dealerships in Boise, Nampa, and Ontario Oregon, Bend, Oregon (all surrounding areas) were doing it. Fuel mileage in my vehicle was far less than expected. I have a hybrid. I averaged between 26.8, 29.9 and 30mpg. Once in a while 32mpg and rarely 34mpg. Even after watching videos applying what I learned from their suggestions. I paid attention to whether it was windy, or hot, cold, driving technique, tire pressure, etc., etc., etc. The same service tech said it is common on the hybrid to experience this. "Toyota's claim is 'up to' 36mpg." He spent the next several minutes going over variables of what can affect that" It was exhausting. I've never had to work so hard at trying to get even up to 32Mpg. The few times I did. Too much of a gap for paying extra for hybrid. So not resolved. Driver easy speak screeches (like a stage mic screech with interference) and is startling at the lowest setting and screech while talking to rear passenger. I am not able to adjust it to medium volume without lots of screeching. Pointless to have three settings since you can't use them. On the highest setting it screech is almost constant. A service tech spent quite a bit of time with me in my vehicle testing it out. He agreed it is a problem and he needed to look into it to figure out how to resolve this problem. After three weeks he never got back to me. Took my vehicle back in. Then they told me when picking it up "we tested it with similar vehicles with easy speak and it is within the same performance as the other". So not resolved. All my passengers ( mom, husband, grandkid) complain turn it off. So going back to turning head to speak to third row and back seat. Passenger front door had a pop noise when opening and had to push harder to close. They said it was within "normal" range. After the second time of bringing vehicle back, they fixed it and said it was miss aligned. So why does Toyota claim they have excellent warranty and service when they don't fix the issue and accept these problems as the normal. Pathetic. Why pay extra for features that are substandard. Is it because it's costly for them to replace the fuse or the seat or the mechanic or electric component for it to function the way it should? And fix it if it doesn't don't just say it's normal?
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