Hi, here is Che Yizhi
When it comes to Highlander, it is always inseparable from those keywords: the king of value preservation, benchmarking, invincibility, no shortcomings, and the cold in the heights. About its legend, not only in the minds of consumers to build an unbreakable reputation, but also let the latecomers feel very headaches when challenging.
But this does not mean that Toyota, which sits firmly on the Diaoyutai, can be at ease, on the contrary, Highlander's self-transcendence is often accompanied by trade-offs with the times, as well as the persistence of the soul, once there is some slackness, it may suffer from the scorn of "eating the old book", and the shelf life of the good reputation of the past may not necessarily give Highlanda a chance to fall.
So when I got the car keys of the fourth generation Highlander, not only did I temporarily seal the stunning surprise of the first test in North America two years ago, but also forgot the articles on the Internet that were "completely exploded", "hung" and "crushed" by competitors, and carefully observed how Highlander achieved today's hegemony.
In terms of consumer taste, China and the United States have a lot in common, especially in the 7-seat SUV market, the people of the two countries will surely find many common languages, such as the pursuit of aura, the pickiness of texture, the need for space, and the emphasis on comfort. The new Highlander, which has been around for more than two years, will undoubtedly transform these intangible common languages into tangible competitive strength.
The first is the family language of Keen Look, as a demonstration of Toyota's transformation for young consumers, this set of designs in the Highlander not only did not weaken the momentum in the slightest, but also the family users like to see the stability, atmosphere, fashion, and represent the masculine temperament of the majestic muscles perfectly integrated, coupled with hidden A-pillar and 20-inch dense spoke wheels, and even showed a bit of performance that was not previously dared to think.
And my favorite design detail is definitely Highlander's side profile. Compared with many competitors still staying in the stage of bringing a sense of oppression by the flat façade, the new Highlander has boldly adopted a bumpy and sleek curved surface, with an uplifted waist line and window line, bringing a dynamic light and shadow effect that is not lost to the sports car, so such a breakthrough, the follow-up also appeared on the same platform of Xena, incidentally refreshing people's stereotypes of MPV.
There is a saying that although the Toyota of the TNGA generation has improved a lot in appearance and appearance, the interior design has not brought people subversive changes, but this is not the fault of Highlander's own lack of enterprising, but the results of the competitors around him have rolled out of the sky in this regard. Especially in terms of intelligence, Highlander actually moved everything that should be given to the table, 12.3-inch LCD dashboard, 12.3-inch central control touch screen, HUD head-up display and streaming media rearview mirrors are all in place, but Toyota does not have the heart to build a set of intelligent sci-fi cockpit atmosphere, which is not powerless, but in the eyes of home users, there is no need to do so.
But once you get started, you'll know that Toyota's ergonomics are not covered at all. Not only are the physical buttons visible and touched, but there is no need to worry about the storage space available everywhere. Coupled with the delicate texture of the soft bag material, the atmosphere of the entire cockpit is indeed in line with the conventional level of its own price point.
In terms of space, Highlander's competitive capital can be further revealed. Although the TNGA architecture's pursuit of driving control and safety makes it inevitable that the space utilization rate will be sacrificed, but thanks to the wheelbase lengthened by 60mm, the second row of slide rails has been lengthened by 30mm, coupled with the E-Four electric four-wheel drive without a drive shaft, the flat floor has been "retained", and the actual space is not enough for the big man to ride and call out the wide, but it is more than enough to deal with family outings.
In terms of details, the two or three rows of seats also support a wide range of backrest adjustment, a variety of power interfaces are enough to provide power support for passing time, the lateral width is more avoiding the third row of rubbing shoulders, and the rear row brings a lot of favorability compared with the previous generation, which is in the middle and upper reaches of the same level.
However, the most eye-catching thing about the fourth-generation Highlander is not the above meticulous refinement of the existing selling points, which are just the icing on the cake in the face of an efficient hybrid system. This fourth-generation enhanced version of the THS II hybrid system has now become the core power option of Toyota's mid-to-high-end product lineup, and it has ruthlessly driven the 3.5L V6 off the historical stage in the North American market.
The reason is that its comprehensive strength is compared with the traditional pure internal combustion engine assembly, THS hybrid has achieved all-round, leap-forward progress. Whether it is not at all losing the power reserve of the high-power turbine, or the motor gives it a power response on call, or how to drive the comprehensive fuel consumption of 7L, it is difficult for the most discerning driver to issue any unpleasant micro-words to the Highlander, and will only call a "real fragrance" in the face of low car costs.
Moreover, the Highlander, which has evolved to the TNGA generation, has improved its driving experience even more than the addition of hybrid systems. Such a large size of an SUV, driving up to a little Bit of European taste, steering feel is very delicate, back to the positive torque is light and soft, for novices to go on the road is very friendly, help to quickly build up the confidence of driving. At the same time, the thickness of the chassis has finally gained a bit of American flavor, and with the tranquility of the hybrid system, the sense of luxury in daily driving has been greatly improved compared to previous generations.
It is worth mentioning that the new Highlander series is equipped with TSS2.0 Toyota Zhixing safety system as standard, such as PCS pre-collision safety system, DRCC dynamic radar cruise control system, LTA lane tracking assistance system, AHB automatic adjustment of high beam system, BSM parallel line blind spot monitoring system, RCTA reversing side rear blind spot warning system and other functions, so that the whole family can enjoy the safety and security brought by intelligent technology.
Today's Highlander is a marketer who has been marketing for more than ten years, with a million-dollar ownership, and each generation can find the largest common divisor in the market. While maintaining its considerate, all-round and reliable nature, the new Highlander has become more refined, more economical, more fun and more textured with the tide of the times, and has made those short boards that cannot be picked out into a new longboard, so that this comprehensive and powerful bucket car can successfully continue its sales legend. Perhaps the "post-birth boy" will bring consumers a more accurate choice, but as long as there is Highlander, the big brother, your choice must not be able to avoid it.