Car & Driver: 2023 Toyota Highlander 2.4 Turbo Review

pimpin-tl said:

Glad I got the v6.

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Me too. That was one of the big reasons why I got my 2022. I knew that I wanted the 2GR-FKS engine and heard rumors that they were doing away with it. It's honestly one of the best things about the Highlander. The turbo four engines in my 2019 and 2022 Accords (2.0t) weren't bad- but they didn't sound nearly as nice and weren't nearly as smooth as Toyota's 3.5L V6. There's probably a good chance Toyota's V6 will be will be more reliable long-term too.

toto said:

Yes, that's happening, but I really don't understand why. It sounds like the smaller engines have to run at higher RPM to do the same work (as mentioned in that review), so they're not saving gas and probably not much emissions either. I really expected to see better fuel economy ratings by this big shift from 6 to 4, but that's not the case. So is the industry doing it just because 4 cylinders sounds more eco-friendly than 6 cylinders since 4 is less than 6?

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Supposedly the new turbo four is a lot cleaner in terms of emissions. Toyota's press release indicates that it produces 50% less NOx and NMOG and produces less CO2 as well.

I highly doubt that the vast majority of Highlander owners push their engines very hard- regardless of if the 3.5L V6 or turbo four is under the hood. It's not like it's the old four cylinder engine that Toyota used to offer in the 3rd Gen Highlander that owner had to push hard just to get up and moving. The new turbo four actually creates a decent amount of power.

Plus, the new turbo four's power is generated at a lower RPM, so there's less of a need to push the engine into the higher RPM range during normal driving. The 3.5L V6's power peak came at 6600 RPM, while the new turbo four's power peak comes at 6000 RPM.

With that said, torque is probably the more relevant number to examine- and the new turbo four's peak torque comes at just 1700 RPM, compared to the old 3.5L V6's peak torque which came at 4700 RPM

Plus- there's more torque with the new engine... so most owners will probably find the newer engine to have a bit more get up and go from a stop compared to the V6.

Again- I say all of this as a very happy owner of a Highlander with the 3.5L V6. It's definitely the better engine by most measurements.

I've been a car enthusiast

98CamryLE said:

Me too. That was one of the big reasons why I got my 2022. I knew that I wanted the 2GR-FKS engine and heard rumors that they were doing away with it. It's honestly one of the best things about the Highlander. The turbo four engines in my 2019 and 2022 Accords (2.0t) weren't bad- but they didn't sound nearly as nice and weren't nearly as smooth as Toyota's 3.5L V6. There's probably a good chance Toyota's V6 will be will be more reliable long-term too.



Supposedly the new turbo four is a lot cleaner in terms of emissions. Toyota's press release indicates that it produces 50% less NOx and NMOG and produces less CO2 as well.

I highly doubt that the vast majority of Highlander owners push their engines very hard- regardless of if the 3.5L V6 or turbo four is under the hood. It's not like it's the old four cylinder engine that Toyota used to offer in the 3rd Gen Highlander that owner had to push hard just to get up and moving. The new turbo four actually creates a decent amount of power.

Plus, the new turbo four's power is generated at a lower RPM, so there's less of a need to push the engine into the higher RPM range during normal driving. The 3.5L V6's power peak came at 6600 RPM, while the new turbo four's power peak comes at 6000 RPM.

With that said, torque is probably the more relevant number to examine- and the new turbo four's peak torque comes at just 170

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MI-HL said:

What I find interesting about this thread (and others as well) regarding the V6 versus NA/turbo 4 is I'm old enough to remember when V8s were falling out of favor with the introduction of increasingly popular V6s. The same arguments were being made then about the 6-cylinder engines not being capable of doing the job. Just interesting, not judgmental.

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I'm on the other side of 75 and have been a drag racer and SCCA racer for some 50+ years and Toyota's to me have always been family cars, nice, not overly expensive and very reliable...hot rods they are not, although like the XSE, they try for the look but not the performance. My wife was looking to replace her 2016 RAV4 SE and during last year cars were in short supply, at least here in AZ. She saw the Highlander XLE w/V6 and fell in love, so it came home with us...one reason for me was that I knew they were going to the 4cyld turbo. I've got a 2021 Ford Explorer with Turbo 4cyld and like it...much better than the Highlander. The Ford has 300hp/310tq(it has an AEM cold air system and probably puts out another 10hp and 10tq to be honest although it weighs 1000lbs more than the Highlander, it will run circles around it and corners 100% better at speed...meaning it's more predictable, partially because it's rear wheel drive...and the fact I added a strut tower brace and rear sway bar from the Explorer ST. I've owned a Mini Cooper with 4cyld Turbo and it was fast and agile, but the important thing to remember about the V6 and Turbo 4cyld is "Power to Weight Ratio", and Torque to Weight Ratio. Torque is the measure of getting an object to move from rest, and HP is what it takes to move that object once it's in motion...in my book, HP wins all the time. If you were to take a 4000lb trailer and pull it with the new 4cyld turbo and the exact Highlander with V6...the V6 may struggle a little more to get going, but once its rolling it will pull much easier than the 4cyld turbo...and, if you want more performance out of the V6 add a cold air system...which I will try on my wife's Highlander...why...because I can, and see if I can squeeze more mileage and a little more HP/TQ out of it.
As for V8's falling out of favor, you can never have enough HP, and my 19 Ford Mustang GT has 460...which is not enough for this old geezer.