Toyota has pulled the curtain of a completely new generation of the Harrier in its home country. Once a Lexus RX, now a RAV4 for the second time.
The Toyota Harrier is an SUV that we do not know in the Netherlands and actually throughout Europe. The model was launched in Japan in late 1997, but would also be sold outside the home market in the form of the first-generation Lexus RX. The second generation Harrier also came to our part of the world as Lexus RS, but the outgoing generation Harrier stood alone. The car has shared its technical basis with the RAV4 since 2013, but it has its own body. This brand new fourth generation Harrier also leans on a RAV4 basis.
The new Harrier measures 4.74 meters in length, is 1.86 meters wide and 1.66 meters high. This makes the SUV, which is on the same version of Toyota’s TNGA platform as the RAV4, about five centimeters longer than the RAV4, all things such as wheelbase, width and height are identical. According to Toyota, that platform also brings a lot of good things with it. The brand speaks of a low center of gravity and a relatively dynamic steering character. On the back we see a light bar running across the entire width, something similar we will also see on the upcoming cross-over brother of the Yaris. The interior is characterized, among other things, with its 12.3-inch large display that is centrally located on the dashboard. The interior is decorated with beautiful looking wood and leather work. Nice detail: Toyota equips the Harrier for a fee with electrochromatic side windows: windows that can be darkened at the touch of a button.
On the engine list Toyota sets a 171 hp and 207 Nm strong 2.0-liter four-cylinder, a machine that is coupled to a CVT transmission and that is available in combination with front and four-wheel drive. Higher on the list is the 218 hp Hybrid variant that uses the 2.5-liter four-cylinder that we know from cars such as the RAV4, Camry and Lexus ES. All-wheel drive is standard on the hybrid version. The petrol variant is optionally available with four-wheel drive.
The new Harrier will go on sale in Japanese in a few months. -I’m not coming to Europe.