Family Road Trip in the 2019 Toyota Highlander Limited

This is one of the most exciting posts for me because Ahmad and I have literally been going back in forth for the past 4 years in regards to what kind of car we wanted to buy. We continued to push it back because I love not having a car note, and live in this world of “I am going to drive my current car until I just can’t anymore!” Well fast forward to now… I am so glad we didn’t jump the gun to buy a car because we are now a family of 5 and the past vehicles we were thinking about just weren’t going to give us the room and functionality we needed in a car. 

I am so excited to partner with Toyota and highlight a few of my favorite things about the 2019 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited. I do want to mention early on in this post, that we do not own this vehicle. We were loaned the vehicle for a week during our family road trip to San Antonio, and partnered with Toyota to speak about what we loved most, and how functional it is for a family of 5. 

We headed to San Antonio, and I was so happy that we could fit 3 carseats (2 car seats on the 3rd row, and 1 in the middle row), 2 strollers, and 2 large suitcases. I didn’t think it was going to all fit at first, but there is still trunk room even with the 3rd row up! We even were able to put one of the seats down in the middle row and store a suitcase there as well. After driving the car for the past week, these are the key features of the 2019 Toyota Highlander Limited that I am obsessed with:

1. SAFETY: I always use the cruise control feature when I am on a road trip! I hate pushing the gas the entire time, so the Dynamic Radar Cruise Control was perfect for me because it keeps me from speeding down the highway. The DRCC “uses vehicle-to-vehicle distance control” which helps you keep a good distance from the car in front of you by adjusting your speed. The Highlander Limited also alerts you when you are switching lanes and activates when you drive 32mph or faster. 
2. FUNCTIONALITY: I can not say it enough, but having a car that fits my entire family is a must. We even need an extra seat for either my sister Erica, or a grandparent to ride with us when we are out and about. The Highlander fits 7 comfortably, and I do recommend putting the kids on the 3rd row because of the leg room in the back. 
3. TECHNOLOGY: My favorite part about the technology was the Driver Easy Speak. The DES was one of my favorite features because it is a built-in microphone and the kids could hear me through the back speakers. I was definitely singing all loud just so I could annoy everyone in the car with my favorite song on repeat, such a fun feature!  It allows the kids to hear me in the 3rd row, and I don’t have to scream when I’m trying to communicate with them.
4. A/C: Ok, I know you are probably thinking every new car comes with A/C… but one of the things I loved is that I can adjust the rear temperature for the kids. There is a separate control panel in the back, which you can adjust for the 2nd and 3rd row to make their ride as comfortable as those in the front seat. I am used to the kids saying they are hot in the backseat but I didn’t hear them say it all this week, which was great! Ahmad enjoyed the cooling seats feature which cooled down the leather seats because it was scorching hot when you first sat in the car due to it being 101 degrees outside. Our seats felt super cool within minutes of putting turning the feature on.
5. HYBRID: The Highlander Hybrid “generates and uses both electric power and gasoline”. It showcases when the car is running off of gasoline, electric, and/or both! It was super cool to see when I wasn’t pressing on the gas I was running off electric power, and when I pressed the gas I was using gasoline. When the engine is off you aren’t polluting the atmosphere by burning fuel! 

The Toyota Highlander is the perfect car for a growing family, and was excellent for our family road trip. There are so many features on the car that I didn’t even get to test out because there are so many to choose from, but I have highlighted the ones that I loved the most! Head over to my Instagram stories to see video footage of the features, and to learn more about the car!