Toyota's contribution to the evolution of the SUV is the very car-like Highlander. Interestingly, Toyota still sells the decidedly more rugged (read: truck-ish) 4Runner in the same price range (mid-twenties to mid-thirties), and this allows the Highlander to be positioned as a more civlized variety of SUV.

The most notable aspect of the Highlander is that it truly feels like a car. And that's because it is, in essence, a car-it shares a platform and many mechanical bits with the ubiquitous Camry. Don't expect it to perform like the Camry, however, as it carries significantly more poundage and has a higher center of gravity. Still, it handles and accelerates with much more composure than most truck-based SUVs, with a silky-smooth ride and impressive gas mileage to boot.

The base 155-hp four-cylinder is something to avoid if you can afford to, as the only engine up to the task of moving the heavy Highlander and its occupants is the 220-hp V-6; neither engine is terribly thirsty, with the four getting 19/24 and the six earning a still respectable 18/22. Front-wheel drive is standard, but a four-wheel-drive system (geared more for slippery roads than rocky trails) is optional.

The Highlander's interior is uniquely laid out, and very spacious. Like the egg-shaped Lexus RX300-another Camry-based SUV-the Highlander boasts a low, flat floor and ample room for five. In fact, you can equip the Highlander so well (with leather, moonroof, rear-seat DVD player, for example) that it does a pretty reasonable impression of the pricier Lexus in terms of feature content and drivability. Furthermore some would say that the crisply styled Highlander is the better-looking of the two. Not a bad deal, we'd say.