I drove Toyota’s $55,000 Highlander Hybrid. It’s an efficient and well-made family SUV, but lacks power and space.

The mid-grade Nightshade trim replaces the Highlander’s chrome brightwork with black trim pieces. Black 18-inch units have also replaced its chrome and silver alloy wheels.

The Nightshade is similar to Subaru’s Onyx and Hyundai’s XRT trims.

Unfortunately, the fourth-generation Highlander has eliminated the popular two-piece tailgate, which allows you to open the window independently of the rest of the tailgate.

At 194.9 inches, the Highlander is about two inches shorter than the Hyundai Palisade and nearly half a foot shorter than the Honda Pilot.

The Highlander boasts eight inches of ground clearance, which is comparable to the Palisade but better than the 7.3 inches offered by most versions of the Pilot.

The hybrid is rated to tow up to 3,500 lbs, while the non-hybrid versions can tow up to 5,000 lbs.

Thanks to its trio of electric motors, the Highlander Hybrid felt decently peppy when navigating through urban traffic. Apply the throttle gingerly, and the hybrid will happily move you along at a reserved pace.

But the refined driving experience quickly falls apart when the hybrid powertrain is called upon to deliver the grunt needed for highway on-ramps or any real acceleration.

Step on the gas and the serenity of the cabin is harshly interrupted by the loud, intrusive drone of its four-cylinder engine straining to propel the 4,600 lb SUV. It just feels underpowered.

According to Motor Trend, the 2024 Highlander Hybrid can accelerate from 0 to 60 in 8.4 seconds — and those seconds can be painful on your ears.

I found the overall experience particularly surprising as my daily driver is also powered by Toyota’s hybrid system with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, and it doesn’t make nearly the racket this thing does.

So it’s disappointing to know that Toyota is absolutely capable of delivering the refined powertrain the Highlander Hybrid deserves but hasn’t.

Base LE trim Highlanders have fabric seats, while mid-grade models are trimmed in SofTex synthetic leather. Only XLE and Platinum grade models, like my tester, get leather upholstery.

The 12.3-inch digital display looks good and is configurable.

Lower trim levels come with a smaller 8-inch unit.

Immediately below the touchscreen is the Highlander climate panel. The intuitively designed combination of physical buttons and rotary dials makes on-the-go use a breeze.

The center stack alone has a wireless charging pad, a 12V socket, a USB-A plug, and a pair of USB-C plugs.

The Highlander also has a panoramic mirror that helps the driver keep track of what’s going on in the back seats.

The heated leather captain’s chairs in my test car were excellent. They were supportive and comfortable.

The Highlander’s second-row seats offer 38.7 inches of legroom, which trails the Pilot and Palisade by 2.1 and 3.7 inches, respectively.

That falls short of the Palisade’s 18 cubic feet and the Pilot’s 18.6 cubic feet.

With the third-row seats folded, the Highlander’s cargo capacity expands to 48.4 cubic. In total, the Highlander boasts 84.3 cubic feet of cargo space behind its front row, trailing the Palisade and Pilot by two and 3.2 cubic feet, respectively.

Toyota Safety Sense 2.5+ includes a pre-collision warning with pedestrian detection, dynamic radar cruise control, lane departure alert with steering assist, lane tracing assist, road sign assist, and automatic high beams.

There are some products out there that can be all things to all people.

The Toyota Highlander Hybrid is not one of them.

For those who put a premium on great fuel economy and Toyota’s exceptional build quality, the Highlander Hybrid is the capable and practical family SUV for you.

But for a vehicle that can cost upward of $55,000, its harsh, intrusive engine noise, lackluster performance, and limited cabin and cargo capacity are deal breakers for many.

Myself included.