2001 Toyota Highlander

Muddled by the midsummer’s heat, it takes me a minute to respond when asked how I like the Highlander.
The sound of the word brings up images of a summer camp for kids nestled somewhere in the mountains where the humidity is less oppressive and fun is the order of the day. I am wishing I were 11 years old for the moment with my bare feet in a stream. Camp Highlander. I think there is such a place. Back to asphalt parking lot, I realize the inquisitor is staring at me.

“This?” I feebly recover, nodding at the Toyota Highlander I am test-driving. “It’s fine. You know, another sport utility."

“But it’s smaller, not so cumbersome but still useful,” I continue, now focusing better and gathering enthusiasm. “It’s built on the Camry platform, like the Lexus RX300, so it feels more like a car. But it’s of course less stylish and less expensive than the RX300, which is one of my favorites. “It would be great for a small family,” I conclude, getting in to drive away. “Easy to live with but ready if you wanted to go camping for a weekend or maybe the mountains. You know, some place cool…”

The Good News
Summer camp is actually a pretty good analogy for this Highlander: It’s flexible, fun, family-friendly and reasonably sturdy and comfortable, but there’s nothing fussy or fancy about it.

It’s a little smaller than the new Ford Explorer and Chevy Trailblazer/GMC Envoy, but larger than the compacts. It fills the void (assuming one thinks we need more sport utes) between Toyota’s miniature RAV4 and the trucklike 4Runner. The popular Lexus RX300 is close to it, but priced beyond this market.

As mentioned, it shares the Camry platform, which signifies several things. Unlike truck-based sport utilities, those based on cars can have lower floors, more inside room and stiffer bodies. They ride and drive more like cars.

In the Highlander’s case, an independent rear suspension creates even more room than usual in the back seat by lowering the floor. You can then fold the rear seatback forward for 81 cubic feet of perfectly flat cargo space. Recline the front seats fully (you have to remove the headrests), and you have a plain from tailgate to dash.

What these car-based sport utilities don’t do is go off-road very well, which usually isn’t an issue for most buyers. The Highlander’s optional full-time four-wheel drive system is primarily a foul-weather friend, since low ground clearance and other factors don’t relate well to rough terrain. And that’s fine.

Platform isn’t the only thing the Highlander shares with its top-selling cousin, the RX300. It also shares the 220-horse 3.0-liter V6 as an option and a four-speed automatic, the only gearbox.

Miraculously, however, I got the base model that comes with the 155-horse 2.4-liter twin cam 4 cylinder derived from the RAV4’s 2.0-liter engine. Mine was also two-wheel drive.

If not for side airbags ($250), skid and traction control ($850) and two packages totaling $1,275 that added power driver’s seat, keyless entry, privacy glass and a few other ditties, I would have had a bonafide economy model.

Even in this entry-level form, the Highlander shows up well. Its spacious interior feels a little like a minivan without the stodgy exterior, or like a roomy Camry station wagon. Those who covet the Japanese mid-size sedan ride and driving experience, but also like the utilitarian concept will love this Highlander. It doesn’t ruffle any kilts at all.

The Bad News
I’ve heard the Highlander called the Lexus RX300’s ugly stepsister. I wouldn’t go so far as to use the word “ugly,” because it isn’t. It is, however, decidedly plain next to the RX300, whose cute quotient has raised it almost to pet status.

I prefer to view the Highlander as a sensibly skinned RX300 for thousands less. Either that or as the minivan you’re not embarrassed to drive.

Gas Mileage
EPA rated at 22 mpg city/27 highway. Better than most.

Price
Manufacturer’s base, $23,515;
Price as tested, $26,570

Is it worth it?
Although I was initially underwhelmed, the more I drove this Highlander, the better I liked it. Its size made sense in between the can’t-really-carry-much compacts and the sport utilities that become parking challenges; it is as delightful to drive as a Camry, one of America’s sweethearts; and the price is right. Even with the 4-cylinder engine, I wasn’t disappointed.

If you choose the optional V6 and all-wheel drive, which Toyota expects most Highlander buyers will, the tag runs into the low $30,000s. That’s comparable to what you pay for its American competition.

Beth Stein is a life-long car buff and free-lance journalist living in Nashville. She has reviewed new vehicles in print for 12 years as a weekly columnist for Nashville’s daily newspapers and on television for Road Test Magazine and Motor Trend Television. Currently, her reviews appear nationally on Car And Driver Television.