2026 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Consumer Reviews
Most Helpful Reviews
Positive Review
The Pros: Nice car, rides great, very smooth. I have the XLE which has a lot of nice regular & safety features. The front seat is very comfortable, and with great adjustments. The car is overall a decent size. I don't use the far back seat so I wouldn't know about the legroom, the second row is very roomy. The trunk is larger than my previous 2016 Highlander. The 4 cylinder engine makes more noise than the 6 cylinder, at first it was annoying but I got used to it. It has 3 different modes for driving, ECO, normal and sport. I was a little worried about the response and get up and go, but if you put it in sport mode it goes, at the expense of gas mileage I'm sure, normal mode is pretty good as well, not sure what happens with the gas mileage in that mode so I tend to keep it in ECO. The safety features are great, blind spot monitoring, lane assist and intelligent cruise control to begin with are nice to have. The Cons: The navigation package is awful, I keep using my phone and on the last trip google maps beat it by 15 minutes. Plus if a phone call comes in its hard to get the directions while on a call. I tried the Android Auto and it really limits what you can do while you are driving so much to me it is not worth it. I might need to learn how to use it better but that is my first impression. My biggest pet peeve and complaint is the range and gas tank size, they specify a 17.1 gallon gas tank which if the mileage is correct would give you a range of around 600 miles. I was only getting 12.5 - 13 gallons in the tank when it said 0 miles to empty and a range of around 450 miles. Thinking something was wrong I brought it to the dealer who checked it out and called Toyota, Toyota said (according to my dealer) yes, we say 17.1 gallons but you'll only get 14 gallons into it. I haven't been able to get 14 gallons into it. They said it's 17.1 gallons but the configuration of the car only allows you to put 14 gallons at most into. Now I'm not happy. The range is one of the reasons I bought this car, otherwise I might have bought a 3 row KIA or Hyundai. What's next? Lemon law, join a class action like the RAV4 Hybrid, or live with it.
VS
Critical Review
This is my fourth Highlander and I feel like Toyota put one over on me this time. It does not have the quality that I expect. The cabin is noisy and the engine is very loud. The seat backs shake and rattle when no one is in them. Cheap feeling fake leather seats are too short. The absence of the very convenient ability to open the back glass tells me Toyota is looking for ways to cut manufacturing costs. Of course, averaging 35mpg might make you settle for mediocrity. But this will be my last Highlander to purchase.
2026 Highlander Hybrid Reviews
Showing 8 of 26 reviews.
Lots
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Bought our 2022 Hylander Hybrid new and it now has 94k on it. It is a joy to drive, gotten as high as 42 mpg but 35-37 is average. Very comfortable and has great power to do whatever we want it to do. We put Michelin Cross Climate II tires on it and I highly recommend doing so. I have two complaints, the rain sensing intermittent wipers have been a pain and basically don’t work even after a windshield replacement under warranty, and also when braking some times it just feels like things let loose and you have to quickly apply more brake pressure. I’m sure this has something to do with the battery re-gen process but it can catch you off guard. When we stop driving so much this will get traded in for a new one.
Great SUV
Color is unique but looks the same as grey ...
Car operates very well with towing my sailboat of 27 ft, and enough cargo space to put all related hardware for the boat. Fuel efficiency is very good due to hybrid features.
This is my 1st Toyota 31,000 mi. Of trouble free ownership just oil changes and tire rotations. It gets great mpg. 35+ in summer 30 in winter.Has plenty of power and is very comfortable and smooth. AC is ice cold and warms up very fast in cold Weather. Great car. Toyota nailed it
Good safety feature
Poor fuel economy, expensive price and cost to replace parts.
I bought Toyota Highlander 2023 hybride XLE considering its combined fuel efficiency is about 35MPG but its actual combined fuel economy is about 30MPG, not 35MPG.
Upgraded from a 2019 Honda Pilot Elite AWD to a 2021 Toyota Highlander Hybrid and I must say I was a Honda person for a long long time and my wife was Toyota. I have officially converted. I know it’s not completely apples to apples, but the Elite pilot was Honda's top and now we have a platinum Toyota and it’s not even fair. The Toyota is just put together better inside and out. Better design, smoother drive and inside is night and day, especially in regards to the electronic components. Highly recommend Toyota’s over Honda’s.
This is my fifth Highlander i owned since 2008. My current is the platinum with every options available. This is the best suv as i have tested driven all suvs each time I plan to buy a new car and still went back to buying the Highlander. Why? It is the best quality and most user friendly car with lowest costs. You can argue till your face goes blue, I have went over the features on each tested car against Highlander to make up my mind.
Historical Reliability..mine is only 1 year old...
Tinny, Dysfunctional Screen
A couple of things that really annoy me. First, the car is poorly insulated...road and wind noise are not good. My wife’s XT5 is so much more quiet...it’s really unbelievable. Second, I paid for this large screen. Got one year of “connected services”. Now, after one year...unless I renew that (which I absolutely will not), the screen ALWAYS opens up with Experience Drive Connect...a marketing screen from Toyota. I CANNOT (confirmed with Toyota’s “customer service” people) see the map. Yes, I can use Apple Car Play...but I’m a 68 year old guy who doesn’t have his phone with him every waking second. Mileage is excellent, hopefully reliability will be too. As for the vehicle...and as a first time Toyota owner....COMPLETeLY UNIMPRESSED (heresy...I know)
This is a great ride and drives beautiful My only complaint is the third row seat Very small although it would be great for small children
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