See full version: Is a Buick Enclave Bigger Than a Toyota Highlander
Combined with generous shoulder room dimensions, that’s a total of 157 cubic feet of passenger space. The Buick Enclave also has a spacious cargo hold, measuring over 97 cubic feet of space. The liftgate is hands-free, and some trims feature electronically-folding third-row seats. here
Toyota Highlander cabin riders get 40 inches of both headroom and legroom. The Highlander and Enclave are pretty evenly matched in terms of second-row space, but the Highlander’s last row is tiny. Those riders only get 36 inches of headroom and just below 28 inches of available legroom. [links]
The Buick Enclave is the biggest model in the Buick family, measuring over 203 inches in length. Its wheelbase measures almost 121 inches, giving it a smoother ride quality. The Enclave has a big engine under the hood to match, a 310-hp V6 paired with a nine-speed automatic transmission.
The Toyota Highlander is another popular three-row SUV with a reputation for reliability. However, as Autotrader found, even the Highlander can’t top the Buick Enclave in terms of interior space.
Although the Toyota Highlander was recently redesigned to be larger, it’s still not quite as big as the Enclave. It measures almost 195 inches in length, with a wheelbase of 112 inches. The V6 is also slightly less powerful with 295 hp, paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. more
I have a Highlander. I used it once to pull a 2500lb tent trailer.
After that I used my Land Cruiser or F350. The rear suspension squats and it goes down the road with excessive camber.
Plenty of power but I wouldn't tow near its rated capacity. I can't see how they rate it that high.
I have a set of winter tires and it goes really well in the snow but it does have open diffs at both ends. I think of it as a big station wagon. I actually prefer it over my F350 for the snow. [links]
Lets go back to your Glastron GT 205 and calculate the weight. The dry weight of that model is 2750lbs. How large is the gas tank? Do you have two batteries? Is the trailer a tandem? I'm thinking you are overestimating the trailer weight of it a bit. Have you ever had it weighed? Why are you looking to move away from the Envoy. the bad gas mileage? You strike me given your towing as a body on frame suv driver. Envoy is really a fantastic tow rig. You can pick up one of the final 2009 Denali models with the 303hp/330tq v8's and Displacement on Demand for a song. [links]
Re: Toyota Highlander towing performance and all wheel drive system
I tow with an AWD IRS vehicle in Northern Minnesota. My Mountaineer has a "dumb" AWD just like the Highlander but mine is rear bias. The thing I don't like about it is the rear wheels have to spin a revolution or two before the viscous coupler sends power to the front. This REALLY sucks in deeper snow since this causes the back end to sink before the front starts getting power, not the best ice fishing rig. Also Independent Rear Suspensions are very touchy to tongue weight and more prone to sway than a straight axle rig. [links]
Re: Toyota Highlander towing performance and all wheel drive system more
The Toyota Highlander Hybrid is an automobile assembled by Toyota Motor Corp. using Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive technology. It is called the Toyota Kluger Hybrid in Japan and Australia. Each generation surpasses the previous, offering greater power and less cost. The hybrid powertrain adds a mere 300 pounds to the vehicle’s curb weight. The majority of this extra weight is mounted low in the vehicle. To manage the additional weight, Toyota made the chassis of the Highlander Hybrid stronger. The Lexus RX, Lexus ES 350, Toyota Camry, and Toyota Highlander are all built on the same platform with slight modifications between the sedans and the SUVs.
The assistance of the electric motor increases the vehicle's performance, the Highlander Hybrid can reach 60 mph (97km/h) in less than 8 seconds which is quicker than the normally aspirated Highlander. Despite the increased performance, the Highlander Hybrid consumes roughly the same amount of fuel as a compact four-cylinder sedan and it qualifies as a Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle ( SULEV ) in America. here
The gasoline-powered part of the engine system is a 3.3L 3MZ-FE V6, very similar to the one found in the RX 330. It produces 268 HP when aided by the two additional electric motors. Under normal driving conditions, only the front motor and gasoline engine will be used. The rear motor will only be used under full-throttle acceleration or when the front wheels lose traction (if so equipped). The gasoline engine will switch off automatically when the vehicle is either stationary, decelerating, or being driven at a slow speed and the electric motor will take over. A Ni-MH battery is responsible for powering the motors, and it is charged during deceleration and from the heat energy caused from braking.
The vehicle owner’s concerns and questions were:
Meanwhile the vehicle owner sent me an interesting email. He said he received a call from the Executive Analyst for Toyota’s CEO. She informed him that because he already sold the travel trailer it is impossible for Toyota to examine the set-up to see if they could have offered suggestions that may have improved the towability of the Highlander/trailer combination. She said she was sorry, but there was nothing Toyota could do to help them. here
The Highlander is a unibody constructed vehicle, meaning the frame and body is one integrated unit. I am not an engineer, and I do not profess to know how a weight distributing hitch affects a front-wheel-drive unibody constructed vehicle, but if Toyota tested the Highlander according to SAE J2807 and assigned a 5,000 pound rating the vehicle needs to be capable of safely towing a trailer with a weight distributing hitch. This brings to question whether Toyota used a weight distributing hitch during the J2807 testing they claim was completed on the Highlander models. [links]
An important factor in controlling trailer sway is the amount of tongue weight and how that weight is distributed to the axles on the tow vehicle and the trailer. A general rule is trailer tongue weight should be 10% to 15% of the fully loaded trailer weight, for trailer’s weighing over 2,000 pounds. The Toyota Highlander owner’s manual addresses the need for a sway control device on trailers exceeding 2,000 pounds. Where I get confused is the statement in the Highlander owner’s manual that implies, at least to me, a gross trailer weight under 5,000 pounds does not require a weight distributing hitch. Remember what I said a moment ago about too much tongue weight contributing to poor steering, handling and braking. This would be especially true on a front-wheel-drive vehicle. The bottom line is chances are very good that a vehicle rated to tow 5,000 pounds with a 500 pound tongue weight will indeed need a weight distributing hitch to safely tow a trailer approaching 2 ½ tons. The owner of the vehicle in question stated even with a Blue Ox Sway Pro hitch that incorporates weight distribution and sway control the front wheels (drive wheels in this situation) were nearly off the ground and the engine RPMs revved to 7,000 while towing a 4,053 pound trailer. [links]