4runner owner, Highlander Limited Platinum v Acadia Denali questions

[q 4runner]

Good evening everyone. I, (we) are proud owners of a 2010 Limited 4runner and I (we) purchased it right when it came out. We absolutely love it and have almost 120k miles on it. It has been a fantastic car and now it is time for my wife to trade in her Ford and buy a bigger SUV.

We are looking at the Acadia Denali and Highlander Platinum, (both 2016 models). I personally like the look of the 2017's front end more, but we are ready to move on a car. So here are the biggest questions.

1.What to people with the Platinum's do for rear seat entertainment?
2. Love most about your highlander
3. Hate most about your highlander
4. Any troubles?


I can't really find any great examples of aftermarket headrests ones.

Any help with this, as well as any other buying decisions would greatly be appreciated.

Thank you all in advance.

Q

 

[007Tacoma]

Good evening everyone. I, (we) are proud owners of a 2010 Limited 4runner and I (we) purchased it right when it came out. We absolutely love it and have almost 120k miles on it. It has been a fantastic car and now it is time for my wife to trade in her Ford and buy a bigger SUV.

We are looking at the Acadia Denali and Highlander Platinum, (both 2016 models). I personally like the look of the 2017's front end more, but we are ready to move on a car. So here are the biggest questions.

1.What to people with the Platinum's do for rear seat entertainment?
2. Love most about your highlander
3. Hate most about your highlander
4. Any troubles?


I can't really find any great examples of aftermarket headrests ones.

Any help with this, as well as any other buying decisions would greatly be appreciated.

Thank you all in advance.

Q

Completely out of context observation, but I am the guy at the office that people love to talk to about cars.

I have 2 coworkers with Acadias that are less than 3 years old. Both of them have experienced severe transmission issues. I have 3 coworkers with Highlanders. They love the Highlanders.

 

[q 4runner]

Completely out of context observation, but I am the guy at the office that people love to talk to about cars.

I have 2 coworkers with Acadias that are less than 3 years old. Both of them have experienced severe transmission issues. I have 3 coworkers with Highlanders. They love the Highlanders.

[MENTION=73851]007Tacoma[/MENTION]

Not out of context at all. That's the exact information that I am looking for. I am not going to lie, parked side to side, part of me loves the Denali. It's sleek, sexy, and balla style. However, the highlander is much more refined, drives a hell of a lot smoother, and has some get up when you hit the gas, something the Denali was lacking).

Thank you so much for the information, and enjoy your night.

 

[007Tacoma]

[MENTION=73851]007Tacoma[/MENTION]

Not out of context at all. That's the exact information that I am looking for. I am not going to lie, parked side to side, part of me loves the Denali. It's sleek, sexy, and balla style. However, the highlander is much more refined, drives a hell of a lot smoother, and has some get up when you hit the gas, something the Denali was lacking).

Thank you so much for the information, and enjoy your night.

Full disclosure: I was a GM fan before my first Tacoma. I've had really great GM products and some not so great ones too...

I really wanted to like the Denali for my wife's vehicle, but I couldn't get around the problems my coworkers were having. Since we only have one child and one dog (for now), she opted for a Forester XT (yep - the turbo one). I can't pry it from her if I wanted to.

I loved the Highlander for me, but my wife is wiser than I am... She knew we needed a capable off-roader to replace my 2003 4Runner. Hence, I now have the 4Runner of my dreams.

Cheers!

 

[KingTaco]

FWIW, my wife had a Highlander that we bought new and drove for almost 12 years. Nothing ever broke on it. EVER. Replaced tires and brakes, and that's about it. Did not do almost any of the scheduled maintenance outside of oil changes.

My brother in law just bought a new one early this year, and he loves it (although is jealous of my T4R looking much tougher :surfer: ). He says it has plenty of get up and go, and the back seat legroom is incredible. We are both 6-6/6-7, and one of us can sit in the driver's seat while the other sits comfortably behind him. You pay for that with the new minivan-esque exterior appearance, but I can't imagine a vehicle more reliable than the one we had. Neither is a Platinum, but hopefully there was some sort of useful info in there

Good luck!

 

[Simpleman74]

I have a 2015 4runner, 2007 Highlander, 2015 RAV4 limited and a lexus es330...... So that should tell what I think about GM

 

[Sleeter]

My mother has a 14 Acadia Denali and it has has zero issues, that said she wants a t4r next.

 

[SnrDisregardo]

My in-laws were looking at the Acadia and Traverse because they needed something with a usable third row, and said the back seat was very uncomfortable and felt like pad on a plywood plank, very cheaply. Now my aunt has a new Highlander and I was impressed with how much room it had all around. It's almost like a swing door Sienna or, what every crossover is, a station wagon.

 

[SR5Bart]

My friend at work has a traverse on which the transmission just went out on. He got GM to cover half of the work then sold it and bought a certified 4Runner. When I have people come in with the new Highlanders into service I always ask them if they like their new car and I have yet to have one person say NO.

And btw here are the cars in my driveway
2015 Venza XLE V6
2014 4runner
2014 Hybrid Camry
2000 RX 300

I had one GM car in my life and will never buy another

 

[philsey]

I have two friends with Highlanders, both are >8 yrs old, both are trouble-free high milers, I have ridden in both and they are still nice, and both owners still like them and have no plans to replace them.

I mean this respectfully, ok? I submit that entertainment as a criteria for new car selection should be way down the list. It will be obsolete in two years. Buy some iPads.

With all the accolades you heap on your 4R, I'm surprised you're even looking at something not Toyota.

 

[Cymon]

I would say that with the previous versions of the Acadia you could make an argument because they were so much bigger (interior and cargo space especially with the 3rd row in action). Now that they shrunk the Acadia down there is really no advantage to the highlander utility wise. I test drove both (previous version Acadia) and even then the extra size didn't have me sold. I told my wife that if we really needed the extra space if suck it up and buy a Sienna. We ended up with a 3rd row 4tunner because of the utility and the highlander was essentially our Outbakck with a 3rd row so we wanted something different.

All in all if it's a family don't you just want the Toyota piece of mind reliability anyway?

 

[q 4runner]

Yea, that's the debate we get into about the DVD players, ipads or tablets are the way of the future. It will only be a matter of time before all entertainment systems to away and all cars will have hot spots. We usually drive my 4runner to the beach every year, (15 hour drive from Missouri to the Gulf) and our daughter loves watching movies for a little while at least. But as you said, I could always buy a hotspot thing and go from there. We do have unlimited data plans on our phones, so that is a plus.

Thank you again for all the advice and keep it safe out there this weekend.

 

[Gecko]

The third gen Highlander has been one of the most positively reviewed Toyotas in recent memory - it's a wonderful vehicle.

It drives well, it's quick, it's relatively fuel efficient, it's got a great interior, very comfortable, and rock-solid reliable. IMO, for anyone who doesn't use your 4Runner for legitimate off roading, the Highlander is a really hard to pass up just because it's so good on-road and day to day.

I know you said you guys are ready to pull the trigger now, but if you can wait, there is a lot more to the 2017 than just the face. New 295hp V6, 8spd automatic, better mpg, and Toyota's whole new suite of safety and driver tech.

If you can't wait, nothing wrong with the current one, and it would be my bet over an Acadia.

Good luck with the buying process. Report back and show us what you get!

 

[Swacer]

Does the Acadia still use the same 3.6L from the previous generation? If so, those had large timing chain stretch issues along with chronic oil burning.

I'd avoid that car like a cancer.

 

[007Tacoma]

I have to echo any comments about the in-car entertainment. A good tablet and some headphones are much better idea these days.

We mount an old iPad Mini (1st Gen) to the back of my wife's headrest and let my son watch movies toward the end of the trip when he is getting antsy. It has about 20 movies on it. So, he has plenty of options. He is only 4 years old now. So, he gets to play on his Leap Pad if he wants as well. He is learning to read - so books are always first.

 

[TeamLord]

[MENTION=58451]q 4runner[/MENTION]
I'd go with the yota. Their reliability ratings are higher than the Acadia/Denali and yotas hold their value much better than the GM product, which makes it a much better investment. Also, I had a friend who bought a brand new Acadia in 2014 and she had nothing but problems. She finally sold it and has never been happier!

 

[T4R2014]

The Highlander is a reliable appliance.

The Acadia is an unreliable appliance.

You shouldn't have to worry about an appliance breaking all the time.

 

[Jetboy]

I have an rx350 (highlander). My good friends have - had an acadia. Night and day difference. They had the transmission fail also a few times. In 4 years they owned it IIRC it went back to the dealer at least 5 or 6 times on a flatbed. Our RX350 has never been on the end of a hook. They sold the acadia after the last one happened in the middle of a family vacation road trip. You can imagine how fun that is with two small kids waiting on the side of the road for a tow truck in Montana when it's freezing out and trying to figure out where to find a rental car and such. If you get one - I'd suggest a dual battery kit and lots of entertainment for the kids. Waiting 3-4hours on the side of the road in a remote area isn't going to be very fun. That was the last straw.
Also a highlander statistically is much safer in an accident. There are predicted safety (crash test ratings) and actual data (IIHS deaths per mile). In the actual data the highlander is on the list of 9 vehicles with ZERO reported fatalities between 2009 and 2012. The RX350 was also on the same list as was the sequoia. You can crash test all you want. The proof is in the pudding IMO.

 

[philsey]

I have an rx350 (highlander)

Interesting, I didn't know this. FWIW, the RX is Lexus' most successful model.
You can't swing a dead cat without hitting one. Gotta be a reason.

 

[Colorado S14]

I had a hunch and then I ran it through KBB and Edmunds and yea, you get killed on the GMC 5 year cost to own via depreciation and projected reliability. Seems like an easy choice to me.