2022 Toyota Highlander XSE Review _ Is the XSE trim the SWEET SPOT for the Highlander

There's a new face in town and you're looking at it. Not this. This. The Toyota Highlander XSE. It's the only way to rock a Highlander with a unique face and a red leather interior. The Highlander is carryover for 2022 but that's not going to stop my review. This is a seven or eight passenger midsize SUV that keeps showing up as my Uber ride and today I get to drive. At CarGurus we haven't yet tested the XSE and there's real mechanical changes underneath. It's not just cosmetic. So let's get warm, warm up, stretch those muscles because we are about to blast off. Oh yeah. Oh no, this is the XSE. It's not the TRD. It's not actually any more power here than a normal Highlander. It's 295 horsepower, 263 pound feet, the same eight speed automatic transmission. But inside the XSE are some actual performance upgrades and you can say performance and Highlander in the same sentence. And I will right now because I will tell you some of the actual hardware upgrades. This is not just a cosmetic package, folks. It does some things. The shock absorbers are different. So was the rear stabilizer bar, the coil over springs, even the steering. Yeah, they're all different. They're tuned to be more aggressive, firmer. I noticed the difference in the XSE because when I last drove a Highlander V6 or the hybrid, I was not really in love with the body control. I thought it rolled a little too much for a brand new vehicle, especially all these bigger SUVs that feel more buttoned down. They feel more like cars. The Highlander didn't. So the suspension tune here, don't get me wrong. It's still not a sporty experience, but this is more of the default choice that I would prefer to have in any Highlander. There's just less slack with the controls in terms of the steering, in terms of the suspension. It's more direct. I like that. But don't get it wrong. This is still very comfortable. You're never going to feel like it's rough because it shouldn't. This is a Toyota Highlander. It shares a lot of feeling, I think, with the Lexus RX for a lot less money. The ride quality on a Highlander is like a nice living room couch. And the XSE's ride quality is like a couch with some firmer cushions. That's the best way to describe it. It's 295 horsepower, 263 pound-feet, but it's got an 8-speed automatic transmission. And compared to some other Toyota models, 4Runner, 5-speed, this is the one that actually reacts well. And you have a sport mode, and it does what it says it does. It reacts. The gearing is just good. So you get mid-range acceleration off the line. This is a non-turbocharged engine. It's naturally aspirated. Toyota's been using it for a long time, but I think it's pretty refined. It gives you just enough snarl when you want it. Then it backs off and it never gets gritty or annoying. That is key. A special feature on the Highlander XSE. This is shared with the Limited and the Platinum. If you get any of those three trims, you get a special version of all-wheel drive that has dynamic torque vectoring. That will independently shift the torque from the left and right side of the rear axle to help tighten the cornering. You would think that maybe you shouldn't be doing things like that in a Highlander, but you can. Front-wheel drive is standard in a Highlander, but if you're buying an SUV, that's basically like having a shower without a curtain. I know they do things like that in Europe, but we don't do that here. We like SUVs with all-wheel drive. The estimated EPA fuel economy is really pretty decent for a big vehicle like this. 20 city, 27 highway, 23 combined. That's for this all-wheel drive model. The front-wheel drive model gets a little bit better, but like I said before, you don't want it. This is an SUV. You want all that grip. If you get the Highlander Hybrid, it has a four-cylinder engine with two electric motors. That's fully electric all-wheel drive. It's pretty cool. I've driven that one. Check out that review. It was from 2020, but the vehicle has not changed. So check that one out if you want to see the differences in the performance. For fuel economy, you get 35 city, 35 highway, 35 combined on the That is really impressive for a big three-row vehicle. 35 miles to the gallon. You're not going to beat that in the segment. Towing capacity is also pretty good. The all-wheel drive V6 models get 5,000 pounds, and either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive hybrids can do 3,500 pounds. This Highlander generation came out for 2020. I still see Highlanders from the very first year they came out. Everyone buys this SUV because it's easy to like, but I like to be seen, and I don't like seeing the same car twice. You'll recognize this Highlander from the front because below these headlights, which are the same, everything is different. This trapezoid grille is flipped. It has a new black texture on it, and you get all these thin horizontal lines that kind of emphasize strength and solidity. They're not actually air intakes, and they don't actually make it stronger, but it's kind of this interesting depth effect going on here. You get a special silver valence, and then over here, that's actual air intakes. It cuts through the fender to reduce the wheel turbulence. Pretty interesting look, and it's very unique to the XSE. No chrome. The XSE doesn't do that. It does black. Black window trim, black mirror caps, black roof rails, these black and silver 20-inch wheels. Check out the back. The rear bumper is also different. You don't want to get into an accident with an XSE because that means you have to find this bumper. This one. It's cooler looking though, so try to be good with it. There's parking sensors on here. That nice silver valence that kind of arches up, it mirrors the front bumper, which is also unique. And check this out. Dual exhaust tips. They are showing. They're not hidden. That's a really big deal. Only on the XSE. Cargo space is good. It's 16 cubic feet where I'm seated right now. If I fold this seat down, it's 48. Fold everything down, it's 84. But the design is a little wonky because this just helps pull the thing up. There's no pull tab here or even a pull strap to get this down, and they got it. There we go. Finally, it's down. And you notice something. That's red, and the third row is black. For 47 grand, I think they could all be red. People in the first two rows pretend this is a Supra. I really like this red. It's a bit garish, and it wakes you up. Stop being boring. That's what it's telling you. You can fit seven or eight people inside a Highlander, but I wouldn't recommend an adult sit in the third row. That's pretty cramped. You'll want a Tahoe or a Telluride for some real space. But in this second row with the captain's chairs, it feels really airy, very spacious. Three zone climate is standard. But as fiery hot red of these seats are, you don't get heated seats. That's only available on the Platinum. The quality is good. The materials, the fit, the finish, the buttons, just the way everything looks, it may not be the most fancy interior or the most luxurious, but you're getting good construction. And it's also really functional like these two trays here. You can put your phone in here. There's cable routing, but this really should be a wireless charging pad because instead you got to put your phone here, which might seem like it's a good idea until you have to then get all your stuff out of the way. This thing just kind of blocks everything. That's really the only demerit. The XSE comes only with the eight inch touch screen. Now watch our 2021 review to see the 12 inch, but it's actually not any better because this is really old software. Even though the 12 inch goes all the way around this bezel, well, the maps are exactly the same size as this eight inch. So you're actually getting a good deal. If you just stick with this, this as it stands though, it's pretty low resolution. It's kind of crude, but it actually is quick. It's easy to actually navigate. So that part is good, but this is an older operating system that Toyota is replacing on its vehicles, including Lexus. It's coming to the Highlander. It's just not here yet. The display in the instrument panel is really useful. There's a lot of information and it's easy to read like all the safety systems that are on board. Toyota safety sense is now at version 2.5 plus. That means you get auto braking with pedestrian detection, evasive steering assist, adaptive cruise, and lane centering that will work like a semi-automated system. It's pretty good. The Highlander starts at $35,405 for the base L, which is good enough, but too basic to live with long-term. The XLE or the XSE should be your start point. They're mid-grade and they can be fitted with more options like my car, which stickers for $47,363 with destination. For a couple of grand more, you can be fully loaded in the Platinum. It's not cheap and it's also not expensive. The Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade are the best buys in the three-row class. You get more of a luxury feel for the same price. The Jeep Grand Cherokee L is even more upscale for a bit more money, but the Highlander is way nicer inside than the Ford Explorer, Chevy Traverse, Volkswagen Atlas, Subaru Ascent, or the Honda Pilot. It's right up there with the Nissan Pathfinder. Whatever you think about the design, the Highlander drives and feels like a Lexus. It's comfortable, it's quiet, it's got a ton of space. That is why you buy one of these. It's high quality and it's Toyota, so it's going to last a quarter million miles, probably more. Now, the XSE, it does a significant job in upgrading some of the sport and the performance, not by a ton, but by a smidge, and that's what I think the Highlander really needed. What do you guys think? Check out our other reviews at CarGurus.com, subscribe to the CarGurus YouTube channel, and keep watching because you know where to look for new videos every week. We'll see you next time.