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Seating Compared to Highlander

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Ok - I was suppose to have a RAV for the week while on the west coast on business. My goal was to drive one for a week to get the fit feel of it. Long and behold, Hertz kinda fumbled the reservation and I ended up with a 2006 Highlander - 2WD V6.

Can anyone give me any feedback on thoughts between front seats in a RAV vs Highlander? I was in the Highlander for about 2.5 hours and it wasn't too bad. Tomorrow i will see what adjustments there are as the lumbar appeared to be a little narrow for my back. But no complaints. I will have several more hours in it by the end of the week.

Also - I am 6'-4" and I can get in and out pretty easily without having to unaturally kink my neck like I do for some cars. If the RAV is anything like the Highlander - I think it will work pretty well.

On a side note the v6 in the 2wd is nice - but nothing remarkable.
 
#2 ·
BKG-22 said:
On a side note the v6 in the 2wd is nice - but nothing remarkable.
Click to expand...
The Highlander V6 is a 3.3 liter with 215 hp.
The RAV4 V6 is the 3.5 with 269 hp.

The above facts plus the RAV4 is a little LIGHTER than the Highlander... IMHO... make the RAV4 V6 remarkable 8)

Believe it or not... the RAV4 (at 40.8") has more HEADROOM than the Highlander (at 40.0") and more legroom --> about 1 inch in the front seats and 2 inches in the rear seats :shock:

More figures here --> HERE

Some good friends of mine just bought a 2006 Limited Highlander. I'd probably rate it as having a little nicer/smoother/quieter ride than the RAV4. But for overall rating of power/cargo space/economy/fun... my vote goes with the RAV 8)
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
Thanks for the info folks. Based on the interior specs (thanks Kelly), I think I should continue to pursue a RAV rental. The test drive seemed nice, but a 5 minute drive doesn't do much justice.

In years past, I have had a couple of local dealers give me a demo car to take overnight. and I did end up buying from both of them This was nice as the wife got to take it to the grocery, park it, maneuver it, cars seats in and out, etc. But my local Toyota dealer is less than "customer centric" and their attitude is that I should feel privileged to be on their lot. I better stop there as my "local Toyota dealer" experiences would be another thread all in itself. Needless to say, getting an extended test drive from this dealership would not be an option and I don't think I would even want to ask.

I will play with the Highlander seats today too see what adjustments they have. This is not a Limited and the driver’s seat was not power - so maybe the adjustments will be limited.

Thanks again.
 
#6 ·
BKG-22 said:
Ok - I was suppose to have a RAV for the week while on the west coast on business. My goal was to drive one for a week to get the fit feel of it. Long and behold, Hertz kinda fumbled the reservation and I ended up with a 2006 Highlander - 2WD V6.

Can anyone give me any feedback on thoughts between front seats in a RAV vs Highlander? I was in the Highlander for about 2.5 hours and it wasn't too bad. Tomorrow i will see what adjustments there are as the lumbar appeared to be a little narrow for my back. But no complaints. I will have several more hours in it by the end of the week.
Click to expand...
BKG, I've owned both a 2003 V6 4WD Highlander and a 2006 V6 4WD RAVD, I liked the Highlanders captain chairs front seat better than the RAV4 as they were a little wider. I also found the cloth Highlander seats to have a better quality of upholstery than the cloth on the RAV4. That said, I like the lumbar support better on the RAV4.

As RAVMAN said the RAV4 does offer more headroom and legroom (not an issue for me as I am vertically challenged).

In the Highlanders favor, it does have a smoother ride. The acceleration with the 3.0 V6 was adequate and the fuel economy with the 4 speed automatic transmission was ok; 18 city / 22 highway.

In the RAV4's favor, the cargo area is almost the same as the Highlander, the 3.5 V6 is acceleration is awesome and the fuel economy with the five speed automatic transmission is great; 22 city / 27 highway

As RAVMAN said, "for overall rating of power/cargo space/economy/fun... my vote goes with the RAV ".

-Donna
 
#7 ·
The big question regarding the Highlander is will Toyota come out with the next gen Highlander next year. The Highlander and the Lexus RX should be due for a change in my opinion. If they do they will probably grow a bit in size
 
Discussion starter · #8 ·
According to AutoWeek's buyers guide, next years Highlander will be redesigned and will grow in size to differentiate it from the Rav4.

Just a reminder that the Limited seats are different in both the Rav4 and the Highlander. I traded in an '04 V6 Highlander Limited on my Rav which is also a Limited. My trips of 1800 miles one way are comparable in comfort since I have driven both on the same route. We are talking one 12 hr day and one 13 hour day. I do feel the Highlander has a better ride and is quieter.
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
Well, in case anyone else ever has the same question - I am now back from Los Angeles and spent 5 days driving the Highlander in both city traffic & highway. I can say that coming from a Silverado and Yukon XL - I was impressed with the Highlander considering it is obviously a smaller vehicle. The Highlander was comfortable, easy to get in and out of, very easy to manuever (obviously) and I really did like the feel of the cloth seat surfaces. They appeared to be easy to clean.

Thanks for everyones input.
 
#10 ·
BKG-22, I would definitely test drive the RAV4 before you decide. My sister in law have a 04 Highlander, all numbers and specs aside, the Highlander's front seats seem a bit more roomy and comfortable. The RAV4 is more like a sport seat, it hugs you. One thing I hate about the highlander is the gear shift location, thats one of the reason I would never buy a Nissan.
 
#11 ·
BKG-22 said:
The Highlander was comfortable, easy to get in and out of, very easy to manuever (obviously) and I really did like the feel of the cloth seat surfaces.
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You will be impressed more with RAV4 as it's extremally manueverable, much more so than the subaru it replaced and even slightly more than corolla! Shouldn't be surprising though as it's shorter than corolla if one measures bumper to bumper.
 
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Discussion starter · #12 ·
"...much more than the Subaru it replaced"????

"...that's why I would never buy a Nissan"????

Did I miss something?
 
#14 ·
BKG-22 said:
But my local Toyota dealer is less than "customer centric" and their attitude is that I should feel privileged to be on their lot. I better stop there as my "local Toyota dealer" experiences would be another thread all in itself. Needless to say, getting an extended test drive from this dealership would not be an option and I don't think I would even want to ask.
Click to expand...
I know local is convenient and I made that part of my latest buying decision but where the "rubber hits the road", a good relationship with a quality dealer is soooo important in any new car purchase. I don't care what brand, you will need to be freinds with at least one dealer becasue you will need them somewhere along the line.

Until I recently made the move to Toyota, I made a nearly one hour, one way trek for all my buying and service needs because that is how far away the "good dealer" was, even though I had a GM dealer litterally 1.5 miles from my home.

IMHO, Choose the right vehicle for you and then make a friend not just a purchase, even if it is not the most convenient.
 
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