JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

Yesterday we retired my wifes 2004 Accord V6 at 105,000 issue free miles. It was a great car, but with timing belt service due, A/C starting to get weak, and the dealer offering great trade in value it was time to bite the bullet. We cross shopped the new redesigned 2014 Toyota Highlander Limited Platinum, new Honda Pilot, and the Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland.

The Honda Pilot drove good, but that design is aging and technology wise it is WORLDS behind the competition. In the end, for almost the same price it was a no brainer that the Pilot was just not for us. Its due for a redesign soon, but we don't want to wait. The Grand Cherokee Overland has amazing tech. styling, and interior, but without a third row we weren't really gaining any extra seating than what her Accord offered. That along with a iffy reliability on the early built 2014's I just didn't want to deal with any possible issues when its the wife's vehicle.
A local dealership let us take out a new Highlander Platinum and I was almost blown away right from the get go. Toyota's have never caught my attention with weak exterior styling and poor interiors. I personally feel that has all changed with this new Highlander. We LOVE the interior and the technology available on the Platinum is pretty impressive. With the wife pregnant with number two, an SUV was inevitable at some point. Out of all the dealerships in the Chicago area it was one 4.5 hours away way up in WI that offered the best deal. Drove the Accord up, came home 40 minutes later in the new Highlander and was home by 2pm. Our 2 year old loves the huge pano roof, second row captains chairs are very comfy with tons of second row room, and the third row offers decent room. Its still just an SUV based off a car platform, but IMO its a great all around vehicle and we love it.
Color is called "Oh La La Rouge" with black leather. Toyota had to change the name as they got sued for using a name that was used in a movie or some BS LOL. Unbelievable. Even though the reds are very different, its more or less the same color combo as my TLS :-)


















Here is my wifes 04 Accord that we traded in. It was stock with exception of 35% tint all around and 2013 Accord Sport wheels.

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

Congrats! I really like the new Highlanders. Oh, and congrats on baby number 2 that is on the way.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

nice!!
it seems like you and Sarlacc switched! lol
he just picked up a JGC after his lease ended on his Highlander

Undying Dreams

iTrader: (3)

Congrats!! Surprised you didn't stick with an Acura/Honda.

paperboy42190

iTrader: (7)

nice highlander! i've actually never seen this new model before

96SC4

these new ones are nice! saw them at the NY Auto show...
congrats on it and the new baby to come...

4cyl or 6cyl?? and what made you decide...?
thinking ahead for when its time to trade in the wifes 2010 Element

CBP08TL

iTrader: (2)

B-O-R-I-N-G! my toddler likes the Toyota commercials
Congrats on both fronts new family addition + new car!

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

Congrats!

rossv1

Congrats on the Muppet Mobile.

bla8291

Wow, that deal must have been really good to make it worth driving 4.5 hours for it. Makes a nice road trip

truonghthe

congrat, I do agree with you that Honda is now worlds behind on tech, the only thing keep them alive is the new MDX and Accord.

I hate cars

I can honestly say I've never seen that body style on the street and I would not have recognized it as a Highlander. Congrats on the new car, I'm sure the family will love it. I think it's good to keep one lower mileage fairly new car in the household with a wife and kids. That's one thing I was always pissed at my father for, he made my mother drive a beat down, always breaking down Pontiac Bonneville with no AC in the summer here when he has millions saved. I gave her my TL many times even though it came back with a new scratch every time. So good for you.

Even without kids with both of our cars getting up there, mine having 125,000 and hers having 55,000 but it's an '07 I've considered buying her a new car. Maybe another year or two, once one of the cars start showing signs of age. Or, once we have a kid on the way. If I were single I would drive whatever I have until the wheels fall off. My TL probably will be driven for at least another 10 years.

I got way off topic but congrats on both low mileage cars.

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

Well like I said we looked into the Honda Pilot, but its an aging generation that was so far behind the competition and did not have any tech features. For the same price it just wasnt worth it. We drove a 2010 MDX Advance and we didnt like it at all. As for the new MDX I dunno just doesnt do much for us, then if you equip it like the Highlander Platinum is was much more than we wanted to spend. So the Highlander it is.

All Limiteds are 6cyl. I think a 4cyl is available on the absolute base of base models, but it only does literally 1mpg better. Someone on the Highlander forums said they really only have a 4cyl available for like fleet vehicles and such.
As for what made us decide on the Highlander. It was just the complete package that sold us. The redesigned look I thought looked nice, the interior is VERY nice, and the technology on the Platinum model had all the cool things that I wanted in a car. Radar cruise, blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning, heated steering wheel, pano roof, ventilated seats, etc etc. It also currently has the highest possible crash rating in its class. 5 star plus. We loved the second row captains chairs which feel very roomy. Oh and it drives great! Feels extremely solid, very quiet, transmission doesn't do anything quirky like the Grand Cherokees 8spd does. Toyota reliability was a big deal as well.

Thanks! Hey man, its my wifes family car what do you expect me to get her, a $110,000 Porsche Cayenne Turbo? lol For $40,000 with everything it has to offer we are happy with it. I mean really when you think about it, is there any cross over SUV thats super exciting? I had a Jeep SRT8 which was fun, but im also not trying to buy my wife a truck that gets 10mpg....highway lol

A half days worth of driving was well worth it for $3,500 in savings. Local Toyota dealers are barely budging off MSRP on these new Highlander Limiteds right now. Not only that, but most dealerships do not even stock the Platinum right now and it has to be ordered with a 8 week wait. This WI dealership had the exact car we wanted in stock, was willing to come off MSRP by $3500, sounds good to me :-) Besides, im the one that has flown out of state to buy cars and drive them back. My last TLS I bought from Atlanta and drove back to Chicago, before that I went to Philly and also Dallas...its what I do

Thanks man, yeah as far as I know the 2014 Highlander is very new and I have only seen a couple on the streets so far. Again, its not a hot rod, but it suits my family well and my wife loves it....as do I. Also, anytime we go somewhere we take that car over my Type S so that way I get to enjoy all the gadgets and tech it has compared to my relatively old TLS now.

CBP08TL

iTrader: (2)

LOL i wrote 'boring' as a reference to the commercial. Looks like the same car! haha


I do agree, the selection are slim for the money. I'll take a highlander over our car any day. I have a 2 yrs old boy and 10 month old girl, we have to be very selective when we go out and about. The city select stroller takes up the entire trunk! Again, congrats. The color is awesome!

nttstt444

iTrader: (1)

Nice, dont think iv sccen one on the road yet. Love that sun roof and the cockpit looks very comfortable.

bla8291

I've only owned one car, and it's both my first and a used car. I definitely understand the need to travel to get one that fits my exact requirements (1-owner, no accidents, low mileage), but I didn't think about that for new cars. I guess it never came to mind because other cars have so many options and trims, when the TL is just nav/no nav or base/Type-S.

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

Yeah I hear ya, but the same applies to new cars as well. Right now this is a hot vehicle and most dealers won't negotiate a whole lot, so that along with no dealers having Platinum models in stock required me to take a short trip to get the right now. I'm cool with it though it's fun getting new cars :-)

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Wow, very nice buddy!

Sarlacc

No I picked up a smaller Jeep Cherokee and I still had 5 months on the lease.

And congrats. I really like the new highlanders, I love the new interior, sat in one at the LA Auto show, and as justincrabs mentioned we had a 2012 that was coming up on its lease. We got an amazing deal on it that wasn't going to get replicated on the new style. Plus we wanted better mpg. So, we actually went smaller in size and we have twins. Since they are 3 now we don't need space for strollers, etc etc.

Enjoy the space and comfort it gives you. Its a great vehicle.

crazyasiantl

iTrader: (7)

congrats

Hapa DC5

Nice reliable people mover. Congrats on baby #2 and the new car!

96SC4

I didn't know all the limiteds were 6cyl...
I'm really happy you got the 6
I could only imagine how underpowered the 4 would be in a highlander!

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

Very nice. That new design is pretty sweet. Enjoy it

MarbleGT

It looks really nice. I loooooove sunroofs like that.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

Oops!
dont know my cars!

RPhilMan1

Looks great! I love the color combo. Can you close a shade over the pano roof?

Black Tire

This is the only SUV I would consider. And only the hybrid version.

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

Yeah like I said from what someone said on the Toyota forums the 4cyl is only available on the base of base models and was primarily geared towards fleet vehicles. As far as if you can even get one in the Limited im not sure, I thought they were all V6 powered and either FWD or AWD. IMO it would be dumb to get the 4banger as there is only a 1mpg difference. I cant even stand driving 4cyl cars, I cant imagine what it would be like an in SUV lol.

Yes, there is a power retractable shade.

Although the Hybrid version would be nice, we didn't really consider it mainly because the price difference compared to the standard V6. It seems the V6 does decent on fuel right around 20mpg around town and that's perfectly fine for us. Plus my wife is a stay at home mom so she doesn't have a crazy commute or anything. Also, unlike the Acuras it just uses regular grade fuel so that's nice.



Thanks for all the compliments guys. My wife is really digging this thing! I sat in the second row captains chair next to my daughter this morning coming back from breakfast and this thing is ridiculously roomy and comfy there. Insane amount of legroom, personal climate controls, full width window shades, reclining seats, and a great view out the sunroof.

terdonal

I haven't seen the new one either. Very nice, enjoy.

cjTL

iTrader: (2)

Nice! I've seen a few on the road and they definetely look premium. You may have mentioned, but is Platinium the top trim or what?

Also, am I crazy, or did you have a Jeep GC briefly?

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

Yes Platinum is top of the line. It's still considered a Limited, but with the Platinum package. You can get a standard Limited with the technology package, but the Platinum adds even more things ontop of that. The Platinum adds heated steering wheel, panoramic sunroof, and second row heated captains chairs. There may be some more items , but those are the ones that I know off the top of my head. Those were must have items for us so Limited Platinum was the only way to go for us.

And yes I had a 2012 Grand Cherokee Overland for about a year. Good vehicle, but I ended up selling it for various reasons. Regardless though it didn't suit our growng family needs anywa since it doesn't even offer anymore seating than her Accord did. I also didn't like how the V6 drove with the 5spd auto. Then lastly, they changed a LOT for 2014 so no matter what I would have wanted a 2014. I'm we things worked out the way they did though. I have my 6mt Type S that I love driving, and the wife has a new highlander which we both love so far.

gatrhumpy

iTrader: (1)

Congrats on the new car. I used to have an '04 Accord V6 and loved it until it was totaled in an accident. I think I upgraded to my TL-S though.

I love the look of that Highlander. Congrats. I just bought a Traverse LTZ for my wife last year, and was amazed at the difference in technology offered than my 08 TL-S. Navigation, overhead video, using difference sources between front and back, etc. Looks like the Highlander was a perfect choice for you. Congrats!