The Highlander is the family SUV Nigerians actually buy, and the Chinese one is not the car most people are picturing. Toyota sold Americans a 2.7 four or a 3.5 V6. China got the 8AR-FTS turbocharged four only.
People hear “four cylinder” and assume a downgrade. On this car, in this country, it is the opposite, and there are two reasons.
The torque arrives lower down
The 8AR-FTS makes 162 kW and 350 N.m, and the important part is where: 350 N.m is available from 1,800 rpm and holds to 4,000. That is more pulling power, lower in the rev range, than the 2.7 litre American car makes anywhere.
On a Nigerian road that is exactly the characteristic you want. Pulling away fully loaded, climbing out of a bad section, overtaking a lorry on a two-lane road: all of those happen at low revs, and a turbo four making its torque at 1,800 rpm does them more easily than a naturally aspirated engine that needs to be worked.
Fuel consumption is 8.9 litres per 100 km on the Chinese NEDC cycle, which is a considerable improvement on any V6 doing the same job.
The second reason: 1,998 cc
Since 1 July 2026 a green tax surcharge applies at 2 per cent from 2,000 cc and 4 per cent from 4,000 cc. Below 2,000 cc there is no surcharge.
This engine is 1,998 cc. Two cubic centimetres under the threshold, and no accident: the Chinese domestic market has taxed displacement for years, so manufacturers engineered to sit beneath the lines.
A 3.5 V6 Highlander imported today pays the surcharge. This one does not, on a car with the same seven seats and the same badge. The full duty picture is here.
Specification
| Body | Five-door SUV, five or seven seats, 2WD or 4WD |
|---|---|
| Model years | 2015 and newer |
| Engine | 1,998 cc turbocharged petrol four, 8AR-FTS |
| Output | 162 kW, 220 PS, 350 N.m from 1,800 to 4,000 rpm |
| Transmission | Six-speed automatic |
| 4WD system | Full-time, multi-plate clutch centre differential |
| Fuel economy | 8.9 L/100km, Chinese NEDC |
| Dimensions | 4,890 x 1,925 x 1,715 mm, 2,790 mm wheelbase |
| Weight and tank | 2,010 kg as 4WD seven-seater, 72.5 litre tank |
| Green tax | None. Below the 2,000 cc threshold. |
| Built by | GAC Toyota, Guangzhou. Left hand drive as standard. |
Three things to know before you commit
The engine is permanently four-cylinder. There is no V6 version of this car to hold out for. If a six is what you want, this is not the vehicle.
There is a fuel pump recall affecting 2018 and 2019 production. Check whether it was carried out on the specific unit. We check it on every candidate we put in front of a client, and it is the sort of thing that is easy to verify before purchase and expensive to discover afterwards.
Early cars had a problematic turbine bypass valve. Worth knowing when you compare a very early car against a slightly newer one, because the price gap is usually smaller than the risk gap.
How to choose the unit
In order: seats first, because five and seven are different cars to live with and seven costs more to buy and run. Then 2WD or 4WD, judged against the roads you actually use rather than the ones you occasionally use. Then year and service history. Then confirm you are comfortable with the four-cylinder engine, because that decision is made once.
One unit is a normal order. Vehicles carry no minimum order quantity, and a single car is handled the same way as a fleet. Lead time is six to eight weeks quay to quay on Lagos routes, plus one to two weeks of pre-shipment inspection and export work.
The full detail is on the Highlander product page. If a saloon would do, the Camry is the same reasoning in a smaller package.
Tell us how many seats and how bad the roads are
Five seats or seven, two wheel drive or four, how new it needs to be and roughly your budget. We will find units that match, send you the VIN, mileage and record on each including the recall status, and tell you what the vehicle costs delivered in naira with every line itemised.
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