I absolutely love the Toyota brands! Our family has owned 3 over the years. We have been big fans, own a Toyota Camry, and have enjoyed reliable high quality cars. I was excited to partner with them, and drive around in a 2018 Toyota Highlander for a little over a week. As a family of 5, we were excited to experience the Limited Platinum Edition of this amazing SUV.
We were going on vacation and it was a perfect time to really test the car, and experience how it drives over longer periods of time.
As a child, I always remember having a Toyota in our family. They are the most reliable cars, and would last so long. Toyota’s are also known for having great gas mileage and this has been true with every Toyota, I’ve driven or owned. Now as a family of myself, husband and 3 boys, we have been curious about the benefits of a larger SUV. This Toyota Highlander truly came at the perfect time.
The moment we received the car, my boys ran outside and spent about 30 minutes pushing every button and hopping from seat to seat. They had all found their “new favorite car.” There are so many things I love about this car! I’m going to share with you my top 5 features.
1. The Moon Roof.
This was the first feature I noticed, and it made me fall deeply in love with this car. All that sunlight pouring into a beautiful cabin of micro-perforated leather, wood grain, polished metals and plastics…wow! It is just beautiful. It is a panoramic moon roof and stretches the entire length of the car’s ceiling. The only section of the moon roof that opens completely is the front sun roof section, which tilts for ventilation or slides back to give you the true “wind-in-your-face” experience sunroof’s offer. Trust me you won’t have to worry about getting blown away. The entertainment this brought my kids was invaluable. Kid’s getting bored? Check out the sky.
2. Built- In Window Shades.
This is a game changer for people with children. These were fully disguised in each of the rear passenger doors, and very easy to use when needed. This was great for nap time for my little guy while traveling. We were able to darken part of the car for him. Also, my older boys who love playing their tablets, used the window shades to limit the glare on their screens. This significantly limited the amount of complaining and fussing that usually takes place, making for a smoother ride for everyone.
3. Cooling Seats.
One of my favorite features of the Toyota Highlander Limited Platinum Edition is those beautiful leather seats. In this Platinum Edition, they were a beautiful saddle tan color. Overall, I love leather seats in a car. They can be a challenge when it’s hot during the summer months, your car is parked in sunlight for any length of time, and you hop in wearing your favorite shorts, skirt, or summer dress…ouch! The Toyota Highlander has solved my summer problems. There are controls to individually adjust and cool seats for the summer and heat them for colder days. It is just amazing. This was one of our favorite features for sure, when we experienced 90 degree days.
4. All the seating.
For a family of 5, the more space we can get…the better. This Highlander is incredibly roomy with lots of extra leg room for my growing boys. The captain chairs are fantastic, and there is seating for 3 in the third row. One of the cool features is that there is 60/40 split folding third row seats. You can either put down 1 or 2 of the seats to create more space if packing up for a road trip. There are a ton of seating configurations available. We put down two seats on our trip to maximize all the of the space we needed to pack our family for a 7 day get-away. We were just fine!
5. The Gas Mileage.
It is nothing short of incredible. We were getting close to 30mpg in a 7 passenger SUV! One of the neatest features for this is the Stop and Start Engine System. This automatically turns off the engine when you brake at stop signs and traffic lights. It saved us a lot on gas. It works so quietly and flawlessly. It doesn’t even interrupt your driving experience, but it makes ALL the difference in your fuel consumption. All Toyota’s are great on fuel mileage and efficiency…but this Toytota Highlander takes it to another level. I couldn’t believe that we only filled up the tank one time on our entire week long trip.
We truly enjoyed this car. There are too many amazing features to even list right now, but these were definitely my top 5. I hope you will get a chance to check out this amazing SUV, and all of the other choices Toyota has to offer.
Thanks to Toyota for providing us with this vehicle to enjoy for the week!
For more articles on travel, check out 7 Road Trip Hacks for Families.
You May Also Like
2 comments
Mary Leigh
You had me at built in window shades! haha. But for real. My first car was a Toyota Camry that I got in 2006. It was a 2002 model and we just traded it in this year – with well over 220K miles on it. We loved that car so much!
jehava.brown@gmail.com
I know! I love this car!