2027 Toyota Highlander EV Debuts in the US – Three-Row EV SUV with 515 km Range

The Toyota Highlander has been revived as a three-row, all-electric SUV for its next-gen iteration.

After a series of teasers, Toyota has finally unveiled its latest model for the North American market, and it carries a rather familiar and well-known nameplate. Say hello to the all-new 2027 Toyota Highlander, which now goes fully electric for the first time in its entire history.

As mentioned in our previous reports, the new Highlander EV is said to be based on the bZ Large SUV concept, with the actual production model looking very similar to its radical concept twin. It gets a slew of Toyota’s latest design ethos, including the hammerhead front face with slim C-shaped LED DRLs, full-width LED taillights, and more.

Some EV-specific design bits can also be seen on the new Highlander, with the most notable being the flushed door handles, the grill-less front face with a large lower air intake, and the overall sharp and angular SUV bodystyle it sports. Not to mention, the presence of a charging port on the front left fender also tells you that this Highlander no longer runs on fossil fuels.

Dimension-wise, the new Highlander EV had a slight growth spurt over its predecessor, now spanning 5,050 mm long, 1,989 mm wide, and 1,709 mm tall with a wheelbase of 3,050 mm.

The large exterior facade translates into a pretty spacious interior for the new Highlander, as it retains the same three-row seating configuration as its predecessors. Some key tech highlights include a large 14-inch main head unit, a smaller 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a slew of physical buttons, heated front seats, 64-colour ambient lights, and a large panoramic glass roof.

Regardless of variants, the new Highlander gets mandatory captain-style seats in the second row, with an option to swap them for a more conventional three-seater bench that increases the seating capacity from six to seven. Unlike many other three-row SUVs out there, Toyota claims the new Highlander boasts one of the most spacious third-row spaces that can comfortably accommodate two adults, and each row of seats will get their own dedicated climate vents and USB-C ports.

Cargo space is also quite decent, with Toyota claiming a decent 450-litre boot space with all seats up, and it can be further expanded to 1,292 litres with the third-row seats folded.

As mentioned above, the new Highlander now comes exclusively with an all-electric powertrain. The base-spec XLE variant features a single FWD e-motor setup that produces 221 hp and 268 Nm while being juiced by a 77-kWh battery pack for up to 462 km of range.

The lineup continues with the mid-spec AWD XLE, featuring a dual-motor AWD motor setup delivering 338 hp and 438 Nm. You can get the AWD XLE model with the same 77-kWh unit that provides 435 km of range or opt for the larger 95.8-kWh battery pack that extends its travel range to 515 km.

The top-spec Limited variant, on the other hand, gets the same AWD powertrain and the larger 95.8 kWh battery setup as the previous variant. Another benefit for the AWD variants is the inclusion of AWD-specific features like Multi-Terrain Select and Crawl Control.

Last but not least, all variants of the new Toyota Highlander EV will come standard with Tesla’s NACS charging port, enabling the SUV to be charged from 10% to 80% in about 30 minutes, Toyota claims.

Sales for the all-new 2027 Toyota Highlander EV are slated to commence later this year, with no pricing details revealed for now. As of now, only the North American market is confirmed to get the new Highlander, where it also becomes the first Toyota EV model to be assembled in the US.