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AD&P; > February 2014 > FEATURE > 2014 Toyota Highlander: Improvement Through Engineering > Christopher A. Sawyer p Though smaller inside, the new Highlander looks and feels larger. A new rear suspension design adds greater width across the third row, while judicious juggling gets more cargo area at the very back. Getting three people in the last row, however, is possible, but not very nice. frst and second rows (the third row loses 2.2 in.), greater hip room, and 3.5 ft3 more cargo room behind the third row seats. This reallocation isn't as radical as it might seem as the 2014 Highlander feels roomier, airier, and much more luxurious. Ingress to the second and third rows is easier and, while Toyota says the new Highlander can seat eight, more impressive is that six adults can ft reasonably comfortably. Even without a decibel meter to measure the diference, it's easy to discern that the 2014 Highlander is quite a bit quieter than its predecessor. Goto's engineering team made the dash silencer larger and overlapped it with the foor silencer, added sound insulation to the instrument panel, increased foor silencer and insulator coverage by 30%, adopted spray–on sound insulation for the underbody to reduce both weight and noise, added soundabsorbing tibia pads, augmented the dampening performance of the carpeting, increased the thickness of the side and rear-quarter glass, and changed to acoustic glass for the windshield. They also increased the amount of foam used in the rear quarter panels, door openings, and roof header, while improving airfow around the vehicle to reduce both drag and wind noise. 42 Handling dynamics and ride comfort were not strong points of the previous Highlander. However, Goto insists that "paying attention to details" brought surprising gains. These include altering the spring curve by retuning the coil springs of the front MacPherson struts, and using low-friction materials in the front dampers to reduce "stiction" under cornering and braking. In back, the previous dual-link/MacPherson strut rear suspension has been replaced by a double-wishbone design with better camber control. And though it can feel a bit stif-kneed on bumpy surfaces when the vehicle is unladen, its greatest attribute is the cargo space it liberates by locating the coil springs and dampers outboard. The electric power steering, on the other hand, has less friction and a greater heft at speed, giving the 2014 Highlander a more confdent feel from the helm. As before, a 2.7-liter inline four mated to a six-speed automatic transmission powers the base front-drive model; all others are powered by a 3.5-liter V6/six-speed automatic combination. This gives the V6 one more gear than before, and raises fuel economy across the board. The V6 is almost as fuel efcient as the four, due in large part to the numerical increase in the