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Basic information of my car:

2018 Toyota Harrier 2.0T Luxury

Reasons why I bought this car

My wife and I wanted a bigger car (from our first car 2010 Honda City 1.5E) to comfortably bring my parents around (including easier ingress and egress) and store the many baggages which they would brought over when we pick them up from the airport. It was also the SUV craze back then so we were also looking at the next car to last us for the next 10 years (including accommodating future additions to the family).

Car Selection Process

I had a budget of: Around RM 250K.

Models that I’ve considered included : Used car (2015 Lexus RX 350); 2017 Mazda CX-5 2.0 2WD, 2018 Subaru Forester 2.0i-P and XT variant, 2018 Renault Koleos 2.5 2WD, 2018 Nissan X-Trail 2.0 2WD, 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander 2.0, 2018 Volvo XC40 T5 AWD, BMW X1 and Kia Sportage.

We still went with the 2.0T Harrier (even though the waiting list is close to 1 year) as the older Lexus looks outdated in the interior designs, while other brands are smaller in dimensions and smaller boot space!. The Toyota brand has also built up a good reputation in Malaysia for as long as I can remember and its built quality (especially Harrier) is well-known for. The BMW X1 wasn't chosen because my boss drives a BMW so didn't want to "out-do" him!.

User experience

• I have already done 74000km.
• My average fuel consumption is 8.5L/km

My wife and I are pleased and satisfied with the overall experience of the Harrier as it was a big upgrade from our first car which has clocked close to 260K km. The Harrier comes with the Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) suite but was lacking a few more technologies such as Blind Spot Monitoring, Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (which were already common back then as compared to Qi wireless charging). After 3 years of daily commute to work (50km return trip) and weekend getaways, there is no mechanical/technical issues with the car. Servicing are done on schedule at authorised Toyota Service Centre. Depending on each service and wearable parts to be replaced, the cost would be about RM 500 to RM 1,500 in about every 6 months.

Pros of my car:

• Toyota brand is well-received in Malaysia, Harrier's built quality is well-known.
• Turbocharged - effortless overtaking or when pulling its weight.
• I have been pumping RON 97 all this while though so I believed it aids in the turbocharging.

Cons of my car:

• Turbocharging does consume more fuel to make more power.
• Could have added Blind Spot Monitoring, Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Tyre Pressure Monitoring System in the package for the price of RM 255K.
• The Harrier logo emblem at the front of the car has been replaced once (in the first year of warranty), but until today (2 years later), it is still showing signs of "peeling off" (low quality it seems), probably the reason why the latest model XU80 comes with a normal Toyota logo instead of an emblem behind a plastic fascia.

Ratings: 

Total Score: 5

Performance: 5

Quality & Features: 5

Space: 5

Ride Comfort: 5

Fuel Economy: 4

Price & Cost: 4

Summary :

The Harrier Turbo is a good car and can last for many years to come, and comparing to the 2013 Audi A6 Hybrid (power and fuel economy is superb but boot space is terrible) and 2017 Vellfire 2.5 (space is superb but fuel economy is wasted for daily commute to work) which I have driven, the SUV was still the best choice my wife and I have taken at that point of time. If you are able to wait, I would suggest you get the 2022 Harrier with the 2.5L Hybrid engine as electrification is the way forward nowadays.

Lastly：

Getting a SUV demands it to be driven like a SUV, meaning no handling of the car like a sedan. It does have a fair share of body roll when you throw the car too fast into corners (driving up to Genting sportily will proof this). The Turbo engine does make wonders when you want it to. Putting it into Sports mode does make the car more alive and eager, but it will burn through your fuel consumption (it'll be about 10-11L/km), and it does wear out your tyres and brake pads faster as the car does weight a lot at 1.7 tonnes. The original tyres that came with the car are the Japan-made Bridgestone Ecopia (which are lousy for a SUV this size). I switched them all for Bridgestone Alenza 001 at 40,000km and it was much better as a performance-oriented tyre which was also good in rainy weather (better water displacement). Being performance tyres, it does wear out faster, so I am looking at a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV tyres at the next change.

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