Should you buy one?

The Highlander is a surprise hit from Toyota, packing an incredibly family friendly interior into a package that’s comfortable, efficient, and very well-equipped.

It easily ticks every box that’s expected of a large family SUV and should prove conveniently painless to own, too.

The value story isn’t quite as strong as it needs to be for us to recommend it outright, however. A Highlander Excel is more expensive on manufacturer PCP (at the time of writing) than a Volvo XC90 B5 – a car that feels far more premium, and is better to drive, too.

It’s even within spitting distance of the excellent Land Rover Discovery, and significantly more expensive than the fiercely capable – albeit slightly smaller – Kia Sorento Hybrid.

The Highlander’s low CO2 and petrol-fuelled powertrain make it a good choice for a company car, though, and if you’re a private buyer who plans on keeping it for a long time then there’s little else we’re so confident about labelling as reliable.

There aren’t that many direct rivals for the Highlander, so if a well-appointed and well-built hybrid SUV – that doesn’t plug in – is on your shopping list, we don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Buy a new, nearly new or used Toyota Highlander SUV

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Further reading:

• Want a Toyota that can go off-road too? Read our Toyota Land Cruiser review here
• These are the best hybrid SUVs you can buy
• Click here for the best seven-seaters on the market