The Toyota Harrier has been given a facelift, and the refreshed SUV
is now on sale in Japan. The latest-generation Harrier is still looking good,
and Toyota has incorporated minor revisions as a result.
The face, which retains the a trademark “covered”
grille, is now more aggressive. The lower grille is now wider at the bottom,
and there are LED fog lamps on the outer edges. Those were originally placed at
the corners of the bumper; now, vertical strip LED daytime running lights take
their place. Speaking of lights, the new triple-bulb LED headlamps look sharp.
The centre portion of the front lip has been painted black.
At the rear end, the previously clear lens LED tail
lights now have a distinct red track even when the lights are on. Little red
strips connect the lights to the Toyota emblem. The Harrier also gets new
design alloy wheels, with top cars receiving turbine-style items.
Under the hood, the big news is the arrival of a 2.0
litre turbo engine. The motor in question is the 8AR-FTS, which made its debut
in the Lexus NX in 2014 and now powers most of the Lexus range. The twin-scroll
turbo VVT-iW unit does 231 PS and 350 Nm of torque from 1,650 to 4,000 rpm
here.
It’s mated to a six-speed torque converter automatic
with manual mode. Fuel consumption is 13 km/l for the 2WD and 12.8 km/l for the
4WD, in Japan’s JC08 mode. The turbo variant gets front and rear “performance
dampers” to increase rigidity and reduce roll.
The other two powertrains are a 3ZR-FAE 2.0 litre
naturally aspirated Valvematic Dual VVT-i engine with 151 PS/193 Nm mated to a
CVT automatic with manual mode (2WD 15.2 km/l, 4WD 16.0 km/l); and a hybrid
with a 152 PS/206 Nm 2.5 litre engine paired to two electric motors (front 143
PS/270 Nm, rear 68 PS/139 Nm), capable of 21.4 km/l.
Equipment highlights include a powered rear hatch
with memory, illuminated entry system, puddle lamps with the Harrier logo,
ventilated/heated seats, 360-degree cameras, front/rear sonar, sequential LED
signal lamps (moves like a wave, as seen on Lexus models) and the Toyota Safety
Sense P suite of active safety systems.
What’s a new Toyota without optional styling
packages? One can order a JDM Harrier with factory fitted bodykits (three
options) or Modellista (two options) and TRD (also two choices) packages.
