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New Toyota Highlander spied with chiseled body, loses cardboard cladding

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A new

Toyota Highlander

is on its way, and this is the second time one of our spy shooters has caught it out testing. Initially, we saw a

Highlander

with

bizarre cardboard cladding

, but this prototype is outfitted in more traditional car camouflage. And boy has

Toyota

covered it up.

Some details are still recognizable through the camo such as the grille and headlights. It’s easy to tell the grille on this generation of Highlander apart from the grille on the old, especially when they’re lined up right next to each other. There appear to be curved ridges showing through the black, unlike the straight bars we see on the Highlander directly behind it. Much thinner, LED headlights are displayed alongside the new grille, poking through their shrouding. The side mirrors have new mounting points and are shaped differently, too.

We clearly aren’t meant to see much more of the SUV beyond that, because Toyota has it well and truly covered. That said, the new sheet metal’s outline is more prominent and visible under the heavy fabric than it was under sheets of cardboard. This

crossover

looks like it’s going to take after the new, chiseled

RAV4

. This is a good thing as far as we’re concerned, because the

new RAV4

is a huge improvement over its predecessor’s styling. Maybe it’ll even inspire Toyota to give the TRD team a go like they did with the just-revealed

RAV4 TRD Off-Road

.

Perhaps the biggest question now will be the vehicle’s rear. A big tent-like outcropping is positioned in the back to make sure we can’t determine any sort of angle or shape on the D-pillar. Expect something a bit edgier than the generally bland Highlander of today, but Toyota probably won’t be giving up any functionality for a tapered roof design.

When the Highlander comes out, the big news will most likely be its platform. Toyota is expected to move it onto the much improved TNGA platform underpinning most new Toyota passenger cars we see nowadays. Competition is ramping up in the midsize three-row SUV segment with the

Hyundai Palisade

and

Kia Telluride

being completely new entries.

Ford

just revamped the

Explorer

, too, so Toyota will have plenty of fresh competition for this reborn Highlander.

Related Video:

from Autoblog http://bit.ly/2RV4J55