The standard front-wheel-drive, four-cylinder Highlander with traction control makes for a superb wagon for the city and suburbs. It's far easier to deal with on a daily basis than a truck-based sport-utility. Though you ride a little taller, you look eye to eye at Volvo wagon drivers. This is a quick, sprightly car with the four-cylinder engine, and it's smooth and quiet. It also gets better fuel economy (22/27 mpg city/highway vs. 18/22 for the 4WD V6). The steering is sedan-like with an appropriate feel. Braking is certain and smooth. Acceleration is nimble. We expected this in the V6 test car, but found the four-cylinder version to be a happy performer as well. We didn't feel like we were missing something by not having the V6.

Highlander feels at home around town, amidst traffic lights and parking seekers. It's a good size for city streets and soaks up potholes and irregular pavement well. Rolling into suburbia, the Highlander fits right in. It's a natural mall-crawler, maneuverable and quick to nose into a parking slot. Steering effort is very light at low speeds, so it's easy to turn in tight quarters. It cruises well on major highways, offering good stability and a smooth, quiet ride.

Highlander deals with mountain roads like an expert speller in the early stages of a championship bee. Snow melt, muddy ruts, icy patches on shadowed curves were easily handled by a 4WD V6 model. On a meandering backroad, the Highlander cut up hills through eight inches of newly fallen snow like a snowplow on a rescue mission.

Highlander is intended primarily as a highway and street vehicle with all-weather capability. It is not meant for boulder bashing and serious off-road driving. That said, we found the Highlander more capable in demanding situations than Toyota publicizes. After all, Toyota has the 4Runner for serious off-road duty.