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2008 Toyota Highlander - Comfort
Front Comfort
The 2008 Toyota Highlander sports a very comfortable driver’s seat, one that features just enough adjustments – fore/aft, up/down, seatback angle – without going overboard. The cushions are supportive, and the overall feel is very good. The leather’s on the stiff side, but we’re going to assume that the payoff is durability. There’s comfortably soft padding on the door armrests and the center console lid, but why is there hard plastic on the door panel tops? With a well-placed leather-covered steering wheel, the occasional hard plastic touch is about the only complaint we have.
Second Row Comfort
The Highlander’s second row offers comfortable seating for the two outboard occupants and a choice of uncomfortable temporary seating for a third person in the middle or extra storage. A module fits between the seats, either a console or an extra chair; whatever isn’t being used fits in a compartment under the front center console. The jump seat offers up an extra LATCH point for kiddie seats, but adults won’t want to spend much time on the hard and thinly padded stool. Outboard, things are much better, with seats that adjust fore and aft and for seatback angle, and with plenty of head and leg room.
Third Row Comfort
The third row in the previous Highlander was literally a mid-cycle afterthought, but with the 2008 model designed with three rows from the start, we expected better than we got. The seat cushion is low, there’s very little leg, head or shoulder room, and the seatback is thinly padded and bolt-upright. If you plan to use it for kids only, keep in mind there’s no LATCH anchor provided. Access is available only from the passenger’s side, where the second row seat doesn’t slide far enough out of the way; the driver’s side doesn’t slide at all. GM’s Lambda-platform crossovers (e.g., the GMC Acadia) do it all much better.
Interior Noise
Since when were Toyotas noisy inside? We noted plenty of wind noise coming from the outside mirrors, and quite a bit of road noise filters through at speed, too. The engine is loud under full throttle, with a thrash that’s unusual in V-6s. The suspension absorbs bumps well, but does nothing to prevent the transmission of every thwack and rumble that you hit. It’s not like your ears will bleed after an hour of this din, but considering the silence afforded in competitors like the Hyundai Veracruz at the same price, it’s hard to ignore.
Visibility
Like most big crossovers these days, the view out the front and sides is good, but the rear is pinched. Look over the hood and you can see the character bulges streaming up from the headlights and grille. The mirrors are tall, but narrow; slightly longer mirrors would make lane changes easier. The rear view is lousy, and if it weren’t for the backup camera, reverse would be exceptionally tricky. The second row head restraints block the rearmost side windows, and the rearmost pillars are absurdly thick. The rear window itself is small, in part because it opens independently of the hatch.
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