Toyota is refreshing the Highlander lineup for the 2026 model year. The base LE model will no longer be available, and all-wheel drive will be standard. It costs more than $5,000 more than last year’s LE FWD grade to get the XLE AWD. There aren’t many changes to the prices of trim levels that are the same as last year. Toyota won’t have as many Highlander choices in 2026. The mid-size three-row SUV no longer offers the LE base trim, with all remaining models now featuring standard all-wheel drive. There is a $41,815 starting price for the 2025 Highlander LE FWD, but the XLE AWD starts at $46,765. It’s clear that the XLE has more features than the LE, but it still costs $5,000 more per year. After 2026, only the XLE, XSE, Limited, and Platinum trims will be available. These have either the base turbo 2.4-liter inline-four engine or the optional hybrid powertrain, which was already the only AWD model. The Nightshade and 25th Anniversary special edition models will be taken out. The fully equipped Platinum AWD version of the non-hybrid cars can cost up to $54,420. The price hike is only a few hundred dollars for similar trim levels. The hybrid model starts at $48,515, just $200 higher than last year’s version, while the top-tier Hybrid Platinum AWD is priced at $56,170. This year, Highlander sales have dropped by a huge amount because the bigger Grand Highlander is selling a lot more than the smaller Highlander. In August, Toyota sold 89,339 Grand Highlanders and 38,594 Highlanders, which is 47% less than the same month last year.
