2021 Toyota Highlander Pricing & Details
The 2021 Toyota Highlander is offered at 10 trim levels in Canada with a starting price of $40,150 CAD, offering a standard 8-inch touch screen and upgraded Toyota Safety Sense 2.5+.
New for the model year is a sportier XSE trim, which features a specially tuned suspension, more dynamic exterior and interior styling, and second-row captain’s chairs. It also has 20-inch alloy wheels, a dual-tip exhaust, smoked headlight and taillight surrounds, and black roof rails.
Related: The best 3-row SUVs for families
The XSE is meant to be the model you pick if you’re overly concerned about owning a “mom car,” and it sits near the middle of the Highlander lineup, which ranges from the L to the Hybrid Platinum starting at $56,150 CAD. But regardless of trim, every model comes with an impressive list of standard features.
These include a touch-screen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration, a smart key system with push-button start, power-adjustable seats, a rearview camera, eight airbags, and the advanced TSS 2.5+ suite of driver-assistive features, which you can read about in more detail here.
All but the base L model come with a confidence-inspiring AWD system featuring rear driveline disconnection and driving modes for various types of terrain. All models are also built on the Toyota New Global Architecture, which the automaker claims to help improve efficiency while reducing noise, harshness, and vibrations.
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Gas-powered 2021 Toyota Highlander models use a 3.5-liter V6 coupled with an eight-speed automatic transmission, producing 295 horsepower while consuming just 10.3 liters per 100 km. It’s surprisingly fun to drive and can tow up to 5,000 pounds.
The hybrid models are quite a bit more efficient though, with a fuel efficiency rating of just 6.7 liters per 100 km. They combine a 2.5-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder with an electric motor and continuously variable automatic transmission, producing 243 horsepower in total.
Near the top of the line, the Highlander Limited boasts an 11-speaker JBL surround sound system, leather seating, heated and ventilated front seats, wireless charging for smart devices, and a panoramic moonroof. The Platinum models add heated second-row seats, a digital rearview mirror, a color head-up display and unique styling cues. Oh, and the 8-inch touch screen grows to 12.3 inches.
According to a 2020 study by iSeeCars.com, the Toyota Highlander is the vehicle that original owners keep the longest across all brands. In many ways, it’s the ultimate road trip and family vehicle, and the 2021 model takes another step toward perfecting the recipe.
Kurt Verlin was born in France and lives in the United States. Throughout his life he was always told French was the language of romance, but it was English he fell in love with. He likes cats, music, cars, 30 Rock, Formula 1, and pretending to be a race car driver in simulators; but most of all, he just likes to write about it all. See more articles by Kurt.