Used Toyota Highlander SUV

Seven seats, full time four wheel drive and 350 N.m from a 1,998 cc turbo rather than a V6. That last detail is the whole point of sourcing this one from China, and it is worth reading before you compare quotes. One unit is a normal order.

Description

The Highlander is the family SUV Nigerians actually buy, and the Chinese version of it is not the car most buyers are picturing. That difference is the reason this page exists, and it deserves stating plainly rather than being discovered on the quay.

Toyota sold the Highlander in America with a 2.7 litre four or a 3.5 litre V6. Neither engine was ever offered in China. The Chinese car has one engine and only one: a 1,998 cc turbocharged four, the 8AR-FTS, making 162 kW and 350 N.m held from 1,800 to 4,000 rpm.

So if you expect a V6 and open the bonnet on a four cylinder, you will feel short changed. Read the torque figure again before you do. 350 N.m from 1,800 rpm is more pulling power, lower down, than the 2.7 litre American car makes anywhere, and it arrives where a loaded SUV actually needs it, which is climbing out of a compound gate with seven people aboard rather than at 6,000 rpm on a test track.

What the smaller engine also does is money. On fuel it returns 8.9 litres per 100 km on the Chinese cycle, which no V6 Highlander approaches. And since 1 July 2026, Nigeria's green tax charges nothing below 2,000 cc and two per cent from 2,000 to 3,999 cc. At 1,998 cc this car sits in the free band by two cubic centimetres. The V6 does not.

The rest is the Highlander you know. 4,890 mm long on a 2,790 mm wheelbase, five seat and seven seat versions, two wheel and four wheel drive, a six speed automatic, a 72.5 litre tank and just over two tonnes of kerb weight in the four wheel drive seven seater. The four wheel drive system uses a multi plate clutch centre differential, so it is a road and rough road system rather than a low range off roader. On Nigerian roads that is the right specification, and it is worth knowing which one you are buying.

It is built by GAC Toyota in Guangzhou, which is Toyota's own joint venture, so the parts carry Toyota part numbers and Ladipo already stocks them. It is left hand drive as built. Under the twelve year rule 2014 is the oldest year that can legally land in 2026, and we work to 2015 and newer.

Two things to settle on a Chinese Highlander

It is a four cylinder and it will always be a four cylinder. If a V6 badge matters to you for resale, buy the American car and pay the two per cent green tax on it. We will price that too. What we will not do is let you buy this one thinking a V6 is under the bonnet, because that discovery on arrival is nobody's good day.

The fuel pump recall. China's market regulator recorded a GAC Toyota campaign in November 2020 covering 232,351 vehicles for a fuel pump impeller that can swell and bind. Highlanders built between 10 December 2018 and 11 July 2019 fall inside it. The symptom is hard starting or a stall in traffic, and the remedy is a revised pump.

An early engine point worth knowing. Early 8AR-FTS units had a turbine bypass valve that made itself heard and left power delivery unsettled at high revs. Toyota replaced it with a revised smaller valve. It is checkable, and we check it.

Both go on the report. Recall position, mileage reading, accident check and service history, sent to you before you commit rather than after. Where a campaign is outstanding it gets done before the car is loaded.

The engine also runs three thermostats where most engines run one or two. That is not a fault, but it is three components rather than one, and a mechanic who knows that in advance is cheaper than one who finds out.

Specification

Figures are Chinese-market manufacturer and homologation data for the model years we source. The specific unit is checked against its own certificate before we quote.

Body	Five door SUV, five seat or seven seat, two wheel drive or four wheel drive
Model years sourced	2015 and newer. 2014 sits at the legal edge of the twelve year rule and we stay clear of it
Engine	1,998 cc turbocharged petrol four, code 8AR-FTS. This is the only engine China was ever offered
Power and torque	162 kW, 220 PS, and 350 N.m held from 1,800 to 4,000 rpm
Transmission	Six speed automatic
Four wheel drive	Full time, multi plate clutch centre differential. A road and rough road system rather than a low range off roader
Fuel consumption	8.9 litres per 100 km, four wheel drive, Chinese NEDC cycle
Dimensions	4,890 x 1,925 x 1,715 mm on a 2,790 mm wheelbase
Kerb weight and tank	2,010 kg on the four wheel drive seven seater, 72.5 litre fuel tank
Green tax band	Nil. At 1,998 cc it sits below the 2,000 cc threshold. The American V6 does not
Built by	GAC Toyota, Guangzhou. Parts carry ordinary Toyota part numbers
Trim naming	Elite, Luxury, Luxury Navigation and Premium in translation, not LE, XLE or Limited
Drive side	Left hand drive as built, which is what Nigeria registers
Ground clearance	Not published on the Chinese certificate. We measure it on the unit rather than repeat a figure we cannot support

We do not publish prices, because the landed figure depends on the specification, the Customs valuation and the exchange rate on the day you pay.

Minimum order

One unit. Vehicles carry no minimum order quantity, so a single vehicle is a normal order and we handle it the same way as a fleet purchase.

Where you are buying several, consolidating into one shipment reduces the cost per unit. A forty foot container ships at a flat rate whatever is inside it, and that rate divides across the vehicles in it. Freight also forms part of the CIF value duty is calculated on, so the saving reaches the duty bill as well as the shipping invoice.

An SUV this size takes more volume than a saloon, so the container maths works differently. We quote a single unit both by container and by roll on roll off so you can compare, and we tell you at what quantity consolidation starts to win.

Lead time. About six to eight weeks quay to quay on the Lagos route, plus one to two weeks at origin for inspection, export paperwork and loading, and a further period for clearing and the drive out of the port. On used units the time before shipment depends on finding the right car rather than on manufacture, so we give you a range and keep you informed rather than a fixed date we cannot control.

What decides the right one

Seats first. Five seat and seven seat versions of this car look identical from outside and are priced differently, and the third row is not something you add later. Decide it before you look at anything else.

Then two wheel drive against four. Four wheel drive earns its cost if the vehicle leaves tarmac, works in the wet season or carries weight on bad roads. On a school run and an expressway commute it is weight and fuel you are paying for twice.

Then the year and the record. Twelve years from manufacture is the legal ceiling, and on a car built between December 2018 and July 2019 the recall position is a specific question with a specific answer. Ask for it.

And before any of it, be certain you want a four cylinder. It is the better car here on fuel and on tax, and it is not the car the badge makes people expect. Buy it deliberately.

If a Highlander is not what the job needs, say what the job is. We source across saloons, SUVs, pickups and commercial vehicles.

Common questions

What is the minimum order?

One unit. Vehicles carry no minimum order quantity, so a single vehicle is a normal order and we handle it the same way as a fleet purchase.

Does ordering more than one reduce the cost?

Yes, on freight and clearing. A forty foot container ships at a flat rate whatever is inside it, and that rate divides across the vehicles in it. Freight also forms part of the CIF value duty is calculated on, so the saving reaches the duty bill as well as the shipping invoice. An SUV this size takes more volume than a saloon, so we quote container and roll on roll off side by side and show you which wins at your quantity.

Is the four cylinder strong enough for seven people and luggage?

Yes. 350 N.m from 1,800 rpm is more torque, lower in the range, than the 2.7 litre American Highlander makes at all. What you will not get is the effortless top end of the 3.5 V6. On Nigerian roads the low end matters more.

Why does the engine size affect what I pay in duty?

Nigeria's green tax, in force since 1 July 2026, charges nothing below 2,000 cc, two per cent from 2,000 to 3,999 cc and four per cent at 4,000 cc and above. At 1,998 cc this car is in the free band. A 3.5 litre V6 Highlander is in the two per cent band, on top of duty, levy and VAT.

Can it go off road?

It handles a bad road, a wet site track and a flooded street. It is not a low range vehicle and it will not do what a proper off roader does. If the job is genuinely off road, tell us and we will quote a pickup or a body on frame SUV instead.

How do I know the mileage is real?

You get the VIN, the recorded mileage, the service history and an accident check before you commit. Where the record and the car disagree we say so and move to another unit.

Which model years can actually land?

Used vehicles more than twelve years old from year of manufacture are prohibited, which makes 2014 the oldest legally importable year in 2026. We work to 2015 and newer so nothing is decided at the edge.

I am looking at a different model

Send us the model, or a photograph, or a link. Tracing a specific vehicle, checking its record and telling you what it costs delivered in Naira is the service. This one is an example of it.

Tell us how many seats and how bad the roads are

Five seats or seven, two wheel drive or four, how new the vehicle needs to be and roughly your budget. We will find units that match, send you the VIN, mileage and record on each, and tell you what the vehicle costs delivered in Naira with every line itemised.

There is no charge for it, and it commits you to nothing. If importing does not beat buying locally, we will say so.

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