Olanrewaju Fasasi, famously called Sound
Sultan, has been in the Nigerian music industry for a long time, with
some people even referring to him as one of the pacesetters of modern
hip-hop music in the country.
The 39-year-old father of two is an
entertainer, song-writer and rapper. He has had a number of
collaborations with local and foreign artistes.
Sometime last year, the UN ambassador
bought himself a 2010 Toyota Highlander, which currently costs about N5m
in the auto market.
The Toyota Highlander combines the shape
and practicality of a traditional sports utility vehicle with the more
refined ride and handling qualities of a passenger car.
It boasts three available rows of seats, a
smooth, car-like ride, outstanding fuel economy and reliability. It’s
no wonder reviewers ranked it top of its class.
The SUV features an attractive cabin,
excellent visibility, and a roomy passenger compartment, which make it a
good choice for buyers with large families.
Performance
The 2010 Toyota Highlander is a midsize
seven-passenger crossover offered in base, Sport, SE and Limited trim
levels. It comes with two rows of seats for five, but Sport and Limited
models upgrade to three rows and offer total seating for seven.
The Base model comes with a 2.7-litre
four-cylinder engine with 187-horsepower paired with a six-speed
automatic transmission. While the Sport, SE and Limited models upgrade
to a 3.5-litre V6 engine that puts out 270 horsepower and is paired with
a five-speed automatic. Reviewers largely prefer the extra power of the
V6 engine as it offers nice balance between speedy performance and
relatively good fuel economy.
According to the Environmental Protection
Agency, the fuel economy for the four-cylinder is estimated at 20 miles
per gallon in the city, 27mpg on the highway and 22mpg in combined
driving, and 18mpg/city, 24mpg/highway and 20mpg combined for the V6
engine. Fuel economy for the all-wheel drive drops those numbers by 1
mpg.
Accelerating from zero to 60 miles per hour takes the Highlander 7.9 seconds, which is reasonably speedy for an SUV.
Features
The 2010 Highlander may not be the
flashiest crossover, but it is hard to beat its interior space and
design as it comes with an impressive line-up of available cabin tech,
which rivals that of SUVs from luxury brands like Acura and Infiniti.
The base model comes equipped with 17-inch alloy wheels, rear privacy
glass, air-conditioning, a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel and a
six-speaker CD stereo with an auxiliary audio jack.
The Sport model has 19-inch alloy wheels,
a sport-tuned suspension, automatic headlights, fog lights, roof rack
side rails and a flip-up rear window in the liftgate. Inside upgrades
include a 3.5-inch screen that displays trip computer info and the image
from the standard back-up camera. The Highlander SE reverts to 17-inch
wheels, offering keyless ignition/entry, an auto-dimming rear-view
mirror, a compass and a satellite-radio-ready audio system with a
six-disc CD changer.
Optional package on the Highlander
include some entertainment goodies such as rear DVD entertainment system
and a premium nine-speaker JBL sound system that includes Bluetooth
cell phone connectivity. A voice-activated navigation system is also
available, but it is only offered on models equipped with the JBL audio
system, such as Sport and Limited.
Safety
The Highlander comes with a long list of
standard safety features including antilock disc brakes, child safety
locks, stability control and hill-start assist that helps keep the
vehicle from rolling backward when motoring away from a stop on an
incline. All-wheel-drive models also come with Downhill Assist, which
helps the driver make a slow, controlled descent on steep and glossy
surfaces. Its cabin is fitted with a total of seven airbags, including
side-impact airbags for front seat passengers, side curtain airbags that
cover all three rows of seats and a driver-side knee airbag.
Whiplash-reducing active front head restraints are also standard.
In government crash tests, the Highlander
earned five stars (the highest possible) for the driver and four stars
for the front passenger in frontal impacts. It earned five stars for
side impacts. In tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway
Safety, the Highlander received “Good” ratings in both frontal-offset
and side impact tests.
The good: Reviewers
commended the Highlander’s powerful and fuel-efficient V6, user-friendly
cabin and excellent reliability and safety ratings. They also commended
its second-row seat design that has a centre section that can be
removed to provide easy walk-through access to the third-row seats.
The bad: Some users and
reviewers complained about the minimal cargo space and inadequate
third-row legroom that makes it best suited to pre-teen passengers. Some
reviewers described its four-cylinder engine as underpowered.
Sources: www.edmunds.com and usnews.rankingsandreviews.com
