The Toyota Highlander has been transformed into an electric vehicle, and it’s going to have to sell on merit.
The model, which has been in development for several years, arrives after the the federal tax credit on EV purchases was discontinued last September, seven years earlier than originally planned.
The three-row SUV will be built at Toyota’s factory in Kentucky using batteries manufactured at its new plant in North Carolina, both of which would have qualified it for the full credit.
The 2027 Highlander is longer, wider and has a longer wheelbase than the 2026 Highlander, which improves passenger and cargo space.
Toyota will be offering it in four configurations. There’s an XLE trim with front-wheel drive and a 77-kWh battery good for 287 miles of range or all-wheel drive with 270 miles of range, an XLE with all-wheel drive and a 95.8-kWh battery and 320 miles of range and a Limited with all-wheel drive and the larger battery and 320 miles of range. Front-wheel drive models are rated for 228 hp and dual-motor all-wheel drive models for 338 hp.
The Highlander will come from the factory with a Tesla-style NACS charging port and Tesla Supercharger compatibility, while an adapter will be required to use stations with CCS-type plugs. Toyota says it can be charged from 10% to 80% in 30 minutes, and there’s a pre-conditioning feature that optimizes the battery’s temperature to prepare it to take the fastest charge.
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Seating for six with second-row captain’s chairs is standard, but the XLE AWD can be ordered with a second-row bench seat that expands the capacity to seven passengers. The dashboard features two tablet-style screens for the instrument cluster and touchscreen infotainment system interface, which has several auxiliary physical controls underneath it.
A full suite of electronic driver aids is standard and includes automatic emergency braking, radar adaptive cruise control, lane-tracing and a built-in dash camera that can be set to record accidents or 20-second clips on demand.
As for the price, Toyota will announce it closer to when deliveries begin late this year, but it will compete against the Hyundai Ioniq 9 and Kia EV9, which start around $60,000 in comparable trims.
Toyota isn’t entirely abandoning the gas/hybrid three-row crossover segment, however, as it will continue to sell the Indiana-built Grand Highlander, which is already outselling the Highlander in the U.S.
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