Highlander Platinum is worth its weight in gold

Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews also can be seen in the Northern & Central California Cruisin’ News magazine published monthly out of Folsom, California.

Sacramento, California -- I never envisioned a sticker reading $51,112 on a Toyota Highlander, a model that is a classic midsize crossover sport-utility vehicle at its core.

Yes, my 2020 Highlander Platinum, with a 3.5-liter V-6 and all-wheel drive, was priced in a range that you might have expected for a fully loaded Mercedes-Benz sport-ute not all that long ago.

But here's the thing: The Highlander was so stuffed with quality and perks that the lofty price was totally justified.  My only recommendation would be that if you want to put down that kind of money on a Highlander, you're buying in for a long-term commitment.

That would be a wise investment, because there's a lot to like.

Let's start with the look, a combination of vintage SUV and country club elegance, with just a touch of aggressive sauciness on the front end.  This fourth-generation Highlander was redesigned from the ground up for 2020, and the designers certainly earned their pay, in my view.

My ride was particularly impressive on 20-inch wheels and wearing a bluish-gray paint job with the delightful title of "Moon Dust."

The tester was pleasingly powerful with a 3.5-liter V-6 rated rated at 295 horsepower.  The Highlander was instantly responsive in dicey freeway traffic and even produced a satisfactory growl when the accelerator was nailed hard.  But not too much of a growl as passengers were able to conduct easy conversations in the quiet cabin.

Toyota expanded interior space in the 2020 redesign, meaning there's even more room to carry cargo in a model that has long impressed in that category.

Interior cabin comfort was excellent, and the driver can easily reach a full boat of easily mastered comfort, convenience and safety features.  Platinum model standards include leather-trimmed seating surfaces and heated seats in the first and second rows.

Fuel mileage is OK at 20 miles per gallon in the city and 27 mpg on the highway.

Happily, the reworked-for-2020 Highlander remains what it has always been -- a comfortable compromise between Toyota's smaller RAV4 and Toyota's lineup of much larger sport-utes.

With multiple improvements for the 2020 model year, the Highlander represents the best compromise in its nearly 20-year history.  And worth every penny.