 What is up you guys, welcome back to another one. If you went into the channel, I'm Gope Pony at the new car truck SCV reviews on YouTube. And today we are in the new 2022 Toyota Highlander Platinum courtesy of younger Toyota in Hagerstown, Maryland for more information on their inventory. Please feel free to check out the link in the description box below. And so we are in this one today because this one gives you Lexus-like quality paired up with Toyota's legendary reliability. So ultimately in this video we will be testing out going over everything about this one, from acceleration to braking, steering wheel, ride quality, sound system, exhaust clip, all that fun stuff. So having said all of that, what do you guys say? Let's just go ahead and jump right into it. And as always, let's start with pricing. So specifically for the 2022 Highlander Platinum there will be two different configurations. You got the front wheel drive starting at $48,010 and then the all wheel drive, which of course is the one we have today starting at $49,960. But regardless of which configuration that you go with the power plant on this one is going to be the same. Powering the beast is a 3.5 liter naturally aspirated V6 putting out 295 horsepower at 6,600 RPM, 263 pound-feet of torque coming in at 4,700 RPM. Power sent to front wheels or all wheels through an eight speed automatic, zero to 60 time coming in at approximately 6.8 seconds with MPG numbers coming in at 21 in the city, 29 on the highway for the front wheel drive, 20 city, 27 then on the highway for the all wheel drive taking regular unlit fuel. So before we do any kind of fun acceleration test here in our Highlander, I wanted to mention to you guys the drive modes. There's actually a drive mode switch and then a drive mode dial located directly behind the shifter. And so the switch is going to be for your on-road drive modes. You got eco, normal and sport and then the dial is going to be for your off-road drive modes. For those you got mud and sand, rock and dirt and then normal. All of these drive modes, essentially adjusting things like the shift points, throttle response, steering sensitivity and then for the off-road drive modes and all wheel drive system engagement then as well. And so having now gotten all of that out of the way, what do you guys say? Let's go ahead and throw it in the sport driving mode here. Let me hit it one more time and it immediately downshifted for me. So it is going to hold the RPMs at a much higher level, obviously. But having done that, let's go ahead and find a straightaway and let's put the Highlander here to the test and let's see how quickly we can get this one here up to speed. All right, in three, two, one, go. All right, definitely not going to have any issues with merging onto the highway. It's not the quickest thing in the world but it is a three row SUV so I didn't expect it to be but it is a naturally aspirated V6 so it is incredibly reliable and it has plenty of power to do just about anything you're going to want to do in an SUV. But anyways, to go along with that acceleration as always, braking is equally important. So up front you will find 13.3 inch ventilated front discs in the back 13.3 inch solid rear disc. As far as the S60's easier stopping distance goes it's going to come in extremely impressive 116 feet and just testing out the braking feel it's 100% on the firmer side of things which is absolutely amazing. I love a firm braking feel. It instantly brings you to a stop and this is important because if you have kids in the back seat somebody comes to a quick stop. In front of you you want to be able to come to an equally as quick stop so you don't end up hitting them so definitely braking is 100% on point. Typically in SUVs a lot of times you even get the upper 130s for that 60-zero stopping distance. So again, 116 feet is 100% on point. So absolutely loved that. Anyways, then touching on suspension and handling up front you're going to get an independent McPherson strut front suspension in the back trailing wishbone type rear suspension front stabilizer bar as well. As far as ride quality goes it's been 100% perfectly fine on my short little test drive here today. So absorbing Hagerstown's road imperfections extremely nicely. Start of steering feel goes, I would say it feels right. It's definitely not as loosey-goosey as you typically get on a lot of other three-row SUVs as well. So definitely perfectly fine as far as steering feel goes. So as cabin noise goes you guys I am going 50 miles per hour on the dot right now and cabin noise is 100% on point. I mean, I'm getting very little coming into the cabin and it's doing part because there is an acoustic laminated front windshield that comes standard but specific to the platinum trim level that we have today you actually get acoustic laminated front door glass as well. It is going to absorb a lot of the wind noise coming into the cabin. So that is why it is 100% on point here in the Highlander but then touching off visibility I can see perfectly fine out the back. So definitely not going to have any issues there. Rate sensing windshield wipers do come standard as well and specific to the platinum yet again you do get a head up display projecting your speed, speed limit, there's a compass, there's fuel information and safety features are going to be displayed up there as well. So very bright display even with sunglasses on I can see it perfectly fine. So that's definitely very nice but that pretty much rounds out the performance segment of this review you guys. Let's now go ahead and take a look at the exterior of our brand new 2022 Toyota Highlander Platinum. All right, so here she is you guys, the new 2022 Toyota Highlander Platinum finished in silver metallic parked in the woods. Gotta love it. But anyways, go ahead and start up front on this one. Black painted front grille with chrome surrounds you guys are currently looking at to like the little wings to the left and the right of the Toyota logo up front there as well. Silver finish found on the front lip one of those distinguishing factors with the platinum trim level comparatively speaking to the other trim levels on the Highlander but my very favorite part as far as exterior goes when it comes to the Highlander are the headlights because LED projector headlights do come standard and so typically you'll find LED reflector headlights which are great but they're not as projected they're not as bright as the projector headlights. LED projector headlights are the best you can get but it gets better. Adaptive front lighting system as well. So when you're going around to bend at night those headlights are going to swivel based on the direction of your steering angle better help illuminating what is around that bend so you're less likely to hit a deer or animal or a bicyclist or a person or whatever. So that is definitely a very nice safety feature in itself auto leveling feature as well. LED daytime running lights you get the automatic feature and you get automatic high beams as well. So when you're driving at night yet again you got your high beams on those high beams will switch back to low beams if it senses a vehicle coming in the opposite direction then when that vehicle is gone it's going to bounce it back up to high beams again so it's just one less thing you got to worry about so that is definitely very nice as well. Then just below those headlights you got some very bright LED fog lights that do come standard on the Highlander Platinum then as well so overall the lighting is 100% on point with this one but that pretty much rounds out the front end let's now go ahead and make our way to the side. All right so but now since we are around to the side of the Highlander Platinum first thing that always catches my eye on this one is the gloss black A-pillar kind of distinguishes itself from other SUVs out there with that but silver roof rails also coming standard up top there you got rear privacy glass of course got some chrome belt line molding as well I like the body colored side skirts as well because a lot of other SUVs out there will leave that matte black so huge fan of the body colored side skirts on the Highlander here taking a look at the side mirrors they are body colored power adjustable side mirrors they will be heated with LED integrated turn signals you're actually gonna get puddle lights with the Highlander logo projecting down from those side mirrors at night as well so I'm not gonna be able to show it to you right now but that is what the Platinum gets ya so that's pretty cool I like that reverse tilt down feature of course coming standard with them as well so also another thing I wanted to mention is you got those Lexus light creases found on the rear doors that kind of taper off into the tail lights so big design element that I'm a huge fan of there as well and of course when it comes to the wheel setup you will find 20 inch alloys multi spoke alloy wheels so definitely a very nice look there as well but that pretty much rounds out the side profile here so I'll go ahead and make our way to the back of the Highlander so now since we are around to the back of this one body colored shark fin antenna found all the way to the top just below that rear spoiler with an integrated brake light just below that rear window wiper you do get LED tail lights coming standard as well to tie in together with the LED headlights of course do you actually have some platinum all wheel drive badging you guys will see that on the bottom right hand corner of the rear tailgate there so that is definitely pretty cool you got some silver accents found in the bottom portion to tie in with the silver accents up front of course and a single exhaust outlet tucked away so having said that I do believe you guys know what we have to do next as always here is that exhaust clip so now since we are around to the back of the Highlander when it comes to opening that rear tailgate it is a hands free power tailgate that does come standard on the Highlander Platinum there is a button on the key fob as well there is a button on the tailgate itself again it is hands free of course but anyways once opened up cargo capacity behind that third row at least comes in an even 16 cubic feet behind the second row with that third row folded down 48.4 cubic feet and with all rows folded 84.3 cubic feet so definitely a good bit of space there pretty much in line with the Honda Pilot I believe there is this 84 cubic feet point something as well but anyways there is a 60-40 split there is some cargo lighting back there there is a cargo cover there is a 12 volt power outlet there are tie down anchors, grocery bag hooks and if you were to lift up underneath of that cargo floor you will find some in-floor storage if you were wondering if there's a spare tire there is it's actually located underneath next to the exhaust underneath of the Highlander so that is going to be the answer for that one but anyways then making our way up to the third row legroom that is going to come in at 27.7 inches so for reference I mean even 6 feet tall this is how much space I have back there rear ventilation of course does come standard for all three rows it's going to be found kind of on the ceiling of the Highlander so it's very nice there and you do have some cup holders on each side for those third row passengers as well but then making our way up to the second row legroom that is going to come in at even 41 inches again for reference I mean even 6 feet tall this is how much space I have back there did want to also mention though in case anybody was curious the Highlander Platinum does come standard with captain's chairs meaning two seats in the middle as opposed to the three bench seating that you sometimes get on the lower term levels I guess you could say charging ports can be found back there they are the USB-A so they're the smaller charging ports also there is a 120 volt power outlet back there as well which I was kind of surprised to see so that is pretty cool heated second row seats come standard on the Highlander Platinum huge fan of that you get some manual second row sunshades as well also a huge fan of that to keep the sun out of your kids eyes so and there's actually a little bit of storage and a couple cup holders located within the middle between those captain's chairs as well but then making our way up to the front seats 10-way power adjustable driver's seat with power lumbar does come standard leather seating of course being the standard finish heated and ventilated front seats as well memory settings for up to two different drivers found on the driver's side door there there is an 8-way power adjustable passenger seat that comes standard as well overall seating was plenty comfortable I like the little diamond pattern design found in the seats as well they're definitely not going to have any issues with taking this thing on long road trip to Ocean City, Maryland or Rehoboth Beach or wherever you want to go I'm just saying I'm on the East Coast but then taking a look at the steering wheel it is tilt and telescoping it is leather wrapped and it is heated actually as well so very nice there then make your way to the startup let me start by showing you guys the key here you do have your Highlander specific key because you got the Highlander lettering on the one side but then flip it over you got lock, unlock and of course that button to pop the rear tailgate but it is all keyless entry with a push button start so all I'm going to do here simply put my front of the brake and press that engine start button located just below the gauges there and so once started up tachometer is all the way to your left speedometer is all the way to your right and there is a fairly large digital display front and center to control what is on that digital display there are steering wheel mounting controls found on the left side of the steering wheel that gives you things like your outside temperature how many miles you'll have left until you hit empty, trip A, trip B safety information, radio information the list goes on so pretty much everything you could possibly want on the digital portion of the gauges there then make your way to overall interior quality panoramic moon roof coming standard on the Highlander Platinum gotta love that overhead sunglass holder also coming standard you got the school bus mirror as well so you can spy on the rear passengers and yell at them if you would like trizone climb control also coming standard meaning driver, passenger and the rear passengers can all set their own temperatures if they wanted to chrome interior door handles gotta love that you do have an auto dimming rear view mirror with homelink controls for up to three different garage doors also very nice ambient interior lighting coming standard you got some ornamental dash trim as well and you got some metal scuff plates and this wood like trim I'll put it that way but it actually feels plastic but I do like the design to it so it's a very nice wood like design found just around the shifter and the cup holders as well as on the doors there as well so overall very nice interior quality got some extra space extra cargo space located just underneath the infotainment screen even more space just underneath of that USB charging port, USB-C charging port two USB-A's a 12 volt power outlet dual cup holders again electric mechanical parking brake and within the center armrest is actually where you're gonna find that wireless phone charger and a decent amount of storage underneath of that as well so overall interior quality has everything you could possibly want more or less but now let's go ahead and make our way to that infotainment screen because it is massive it is a 12.3 inch color touch screen display Bluetooth and audio streaming of course Android Auto Apple CarPlay factory navigation does come standard as well you also have your climate control settings up there your heated seat settings up there as well and of course your radio information and so when it comes to the standard sound system on the Highlander Platinum you will get an 11 speaker JBL sound system with an external amp and a subwoofer so having said that, what do you guys say? Let's go ahead and turn on the radio see what we got playing today and let's test out the clarity of this one plenty of clarity there, plenty of bass, JBL I actually had a JBL subwoofer in my first car I thought it was so cool put an external sub in the back of my trunk there but JBL is definitely reputable they have been around for forever I feel like so that is definitely a very nice sound system for the Highlander without a doubt but then last thing I wanted to mention to you guys on the infotainment screen is when you do put the Highlander Platinum in reverse you not only will get a rear view camera ticking up the entire left portion of the screen but you're also going to get a 360 degree monitor found on the right so that is the best setup you could possibly get for this thing which is always going to lead us into safety and so to start the Highlander Platinum is an IIHS top safety pick plus which is the very highest designation given by IIHS that pretty much has it all right there front side side current airbags do come standard you get a driver's knee airbag up front as well a passenger seat cushion airbag as well you usually don't find that on other manufacturers so that was pretty cool in the back you're going to have latch aka lower anchors to tether to children for the rear car seats for your child door locks tire pressure monitoring system but also coming standard will be Toyota Safety Sense 2.5 plus that is going to include a pre-collision system with pedestrian detection lane departure alert with steering assist lane tracing assist, road sign assist, dynamic radar cruise control and a blind spot monitoring system with rear cross traffic alert and so overall with a custom my final thoughts here the Highlander Platinum definitely gives you plenty of luxury including this panoramic moon roof I got a color head up display like I was mentioning to you guys this would look trim that I absolutely love so plenty of luxury found in this thing of course to go with that you have incredible reliability this is not a turbo charged engine this isn't even a direct injected engine this is a Atkinson cycle naturally aspirated V6 so you cannot beat that you got perfect safety of course like I just mentioned with incredible headlights it doesn't get any better than the headlight setup that we have here on the Highlander Platinum the only thing missing the only thing I would possibly add to this thing would be a full digital gauge cluster so you got a 12.3 inch infotainment screen I wish they could make a 12.3 inch digital gauge cluster that's customizable you can change the colors per the driving mode or something even so that's the only thing I could see missing because they got that on the new Tundra now as well but let me know what you guys think of the new Highlander Platinum in the comment section below and that is about it for this one you guys thank you so much for watching feel free to follow me on social media at the bottom of the screen if you want to see what's coming next on the channel before it gets to YouTube be sure to hit the subscribe and the bell notification button if you're into new car reviews that is what we do here on this channel after all do appreciate you guys watching more than you know and I will see you guys all in the next video stay gold