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The 2020 Toyota Highlander on display

Why the 2020 Toyota Highlander Might Cost More Than You Think

The Toyota Highlander is a three-row SUV that’s created strong competition among rivals. Offering Toyota’s safety and reliability, the Highlander is also known for being an affordable, family-friendly vehicle. But with a complete redesign of the 2020 Toyota Highlander, how will prices reflect the changes? What will the new Toyota Highlander cost you? How expensive …

The Toyota Highlander is a three-row SUV that’s created strong competition among rivals. Offering Toyota’s safety and reliability, the Highlander is also known for being an affordable, family-friendly vehicle. But with a complete redesign of the 2020 Toyota Highlander, how will prices reflect the changes? What will the new Toyota Highlander cost you?

How expensive is the 2020 Toyota Highlander?

The 2020 Toyota Highlander on display
The 2020 Toyota Highlander | Spencer Platt/Getty Images

A lot has changed for the 2020 Highlander model year, including not just a redesign, but also a restructuring of trim levels and pricing. According to Motor 1, a new entry-level trim has been added to the Highlander lineup, giving the 2020 Toyota Highlander a starting MSRP of $34,600. But as the lowest Highlander in the bunch, that base price of a 2020 Toyota Highlander L is exactly “$2,770 more than the cheapest 2019 model.” But what does the more expensive standard model have to offer?

The 2020 Toyota Highlander received a complete redesign over the 2019 model year. Alongside sleeker aesthetics and a more modern design, the 2020 Toyota Highlander comes with a variety of changes over the 2019 model year. It’s more than two inches longer, with improved aerodynamics, thinner lights, and 18-inch alloy wheels. One of the biggest changes is the Toyota Highlander‘s completely new platform and suspension design that improves ride quality and performance, according to MotorTrend.

The 2020 Highlander also comes with more “more standard infotainment features, including Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, and Amazon Alexa,” according to U.S. News. The infotainment system’s screen is also larger at 8 inches instead of 6.1 inches.

For 2020, the Highlander completely drops its four-cylinder engine predecessor, only leaving an improved V6 and hybrid powertrain option. Though the Highlander already came with a variety of standard safety features like pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control, and emergency braking, the 2020 model year brings even more standard tech like lane tracing assist and a traffic sign recognition system.

What options on the 2020 Toyota Highlander will cost you

The starting price for the next available trim above the base, the LE, starts at $36,800. The LE gets all the same standard features as the base L trim, plus blind-spot monitoring technology, fog lamps, a leather-trimmed interior, and a power liftgate. Next is the XLE trim, which starts at $39,600, adding in faux-leather seating, a sunroof, a 7-inch gauge cluster screen, and heated/powered front seats. 

To get the 2020 Toyota Highlander Limited, you’ll have to spend at least $43,650, but this higher trim swaps out 18-inch wheels for 20-inch wheels. The Limited trim also comes with leather seating, an in-dash navigation system, premium audio, ventilated front seats, a cargo cover, driver’s seat memory, and a hands-free power liftgate.

The highest trim level, the Highlander Platinum, goes even further, with a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system, a head-up display, heated rear seats, rain-sensing wipers, a panoramic sunroof, surround-view camera system, and adaptive headlights. According to Edmunds, the Highlander Platinum‘s touchscreen is the largest in the segment. The starting price for the Platinum begins at $46,850.

But starting prices may not include all available options for the 2020 Highlander. For instance, you’ll have to pay an additional $1,600 on L, LE, and XLE trims to get optional all-wheel drive. You’ll have to pay an additional $1,950 on Limited and Platinum trims.

How expensive is going hybrid?

The 2020 Highlander goes with true Toyota tradition, offering its own gasoline-electric hybrid option. Unlike the gas-powered V6 options, Highlander Hybrids are only available in LE, XLE, Limited, and Platinum trims. The starting price of the 2020 Toyota Highlander Hybrid LE is $38,200, only $680 more than the previous year’s model. Starting prices for the Hybrid XLE, Limited, and Platinum variations are $41,000, $45,050, and $48,250, respectively.