The is a five-passenger
compact
Compact as used in politics may refer broadly to a pact or treaty; in more specific cases it may refer to:
* Interstate compact
* Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines
* Compact government, a type of colonial rule utilized in British ...
, later
mid-size crossover SUV
Mid-size crossover SUV is an automobile classification used mainly in North America to describe a segment of crossover SUV, a type of sport utility vehicle, between compact crossover SUV and full-size crossover SUV.
A mid-size crossover SU ...
produced by
Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
since December 1997 in Japan, which was once exclusive to ''
Toyopet Store
Toyota vehicles in Japan are distributed to numerous dealership chains throughout the country. Up to May 2020, each dealership chain had a different product offering, with some models restricted to one chain to maintain exclusivity. Since May 2020, ...
'' Japanese dealerships. In export markets, the Harrier was
rebadged
In the automotive industry, rebadging is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. To allow for product differentiation without designing or engineering a new model or brand (at high cost or risk), a man ...
as the
Lexus RX
The is a luxury crossover SUV sold since 1998 by Lexus, a luxury division of Toyota. Originally released in its home market of Japan in late 1997 as the Toyota Harrier, export sales began in March 1998 as the Lexus RX. Considered as the first ...
from March 1998 to December 2008. At this stage, Toyota had yet to retail the
Lexus
is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Toyota. The Lexus brand is marketed in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide and is Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. It has ranked among the 10 largest Japanese ...
brand to its Japanese customers.
The second generation (XU30) debuted in February 2003, along with the export Lexus version. The third-generation RX (separated from the Harrier) arrived in late 2008, while the Harrier continued on in second-generation form unchanged (although the second generation Harrier 350G, equivalent to second generation RX350, was discontinued after the release of third generation Lexus RX). Lexus had by now made its debut in Japan as an independent marque, thus the third-generation RX was sold in the domestic market in the same livery as its export counterpart.
The third generation (XU60) debuted in 2013, when it morphed into an independent model line constructed on a separate platform from the RX (the Harrier since then built on the same platform as the
RAV4) but retaining a visual link with it. Starting at this point, it is considered as a more road-oriented and upmarket alternative to the RAV4, comparable to the
luxury-class Lexus NX
The is a compact luxury crossover SUV sold by Lexus, a luxury division of Toyota. Introduced in late 2014, it is positioned between the subcompact UX and the mid-size RX. The NX was proven to be well-received, as it was a sales success. It w ...
. From the fourth generation (XU80), it is also sold as the
second-generation Venza in North America and China.
The Harrier is named for the
eastern marsh harrier, a
bird of prey
Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predat ...
common to
Hokkaidō and northern
Honshū called the ''chūhi'' in Japanese, and an emblem depicting the bird in stylized profile can be found on the grille until the XU60 model.
__TOC__
Lexus RX-paralleled models
File:Toyota Harrier (cropped).jpg, First generation (XU10; 1997)
File:Toyota Harrier (XU30).jpg, Second generation (XU30; 2003)
Third generation (XU60; 2013)
Released on 2 December 2013 in Japan for the petrol model and 15 January 2014 for the hybrid model, the XU60 series Harrier replaced not only its XU30 series namesake, but also the
XA30 series Vanguard. Unlike the second and third-generation RX, which is built on the
K platform, the XU60 series Harrier derived from the
XA40 series RAV4's
New MC underpinnings.
Trim levels available in Japan include Grand, Elegance, and Premium for both the petrol and hybrid models. The top-of-the-line Premium trim came with
JBL
JBL is an American audio equipment manufacturer headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. JBL serves the customer home and professional market. The professional market includes studios, installed/tour/portable sound, cars, music ...
GreenEdge audio with 8-inch
T-Connect touchscreen entertainment system with navigation and sensing features. A "Style Mauve" special edition and subsequently the "Style Ash" special edition was released later.
The XU60 series Harrier received a
facelift
A facelift, technically known as a rhytidectomy (from the Ancient Greek () "wrinkle", and () "excision", the surgical removal of wrinkles), is a type of cosmetic surgery procedure used to give a more youthful facial appearance. There are mul ...
on 8 June 2017. For the facelift model, the Grand trim was removed and Elegance became the base trim. The Progress trim replaced Premium as the flagship trim, with the "Metal and Leather Package" added to both Premium and Progress trims. The "Style NOIR" special edition for
naturally-aspirated Premium trim were also added later. A Turbo model was introduced with a 2.0-litre
turbocharged ''
8AR-FTS'' engine mated to a 6-speed ''
U661''
automatic transmission
An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving ...
, while the 2.0-litre naturally-aspirated ''
3ZR-FAE'' and 2.5-litre ''
2AR-FXE''
hybrid
Hybrid may refer to:
Science
* Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding
** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species
** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...
engines remained.
Toyota Safety Sense
A collision avoidance system (CAS), also known as a pre-crash system, forward collision warning system, or collision mitigation system, is an advanced driver-assistance system designed to prevent or reduce the severity of a collision. In its ...
P safety system (
adaptive cruise control
Adaptive cruise control (ACC) is an available cruise control advanced driver-assistance system for road vehicles that automatically adjusts the vehicle speed to maintain a safe distance from vehicles ahead. As of 2019, it is also called by 20 un ...
,
lane departure assist,
pre-collision system and
automatic high beam) were standard across the trim levels.
The XU60 series Harrier was the first Harrier to be officially sold outside of Japan. It was offered in Singapore and Malaysia. In Malaysia, it was introduced in November 2017 with two trim levels offered: Premium and Luxury. Both trim levels are powered by a 2.0-litre ''8AR-FTS'' engine.
Engines
Gallery
File:Toyota Harrier (XU60) rear.jpg, Harrier (pre-facelift)
File:2017 Toyota Harrier (XU60) Turbo wagon (2017-11-27) 01.jpg, 2017 Harrier Turbo (facelift)
File:2017 Toyota Harrier (XU60) Turbo wagon (2017-11-27) 02.jpg, 2017 Harrier Turbo (facelift)
File:Toyota HARRIER TURBO ELEGANCE "GR SPORT".jpg, 2018 Harrier Turbo Elegance GR Sport (ASU60W)
File:Toyota HARRIER ELEGANCE"GR SPORT" (DBA-ZSU60W-VLJBXM) rear.jpg, 2017 Harrier Elegance GR Sport (ZSU60W)
File:Toyota Harrier U60 interior.jpg, Interior (pre-facelift)
Fourth generation (XU80; 2020)
The XU80 series Harrier was announced on 13 April 2020 and went on sale on 17 June 2020.
It is built on the same
GA-K platform as the
XA50 series RAV4. Compared with the outgoing model, the width and the wheelbase is up by and respectively, while the height has been cut by . Unlike the previous model, the turbocharged engine option is not available in this generation. It is available in S, G and Z grade levels in Japan. The Leather Package is also available in G and Z grades.
In September 2022, the plug-in hybrid version was released in Japan in a sole Z grade level. It shares the same system with the RAV4 PHEV.
In other Asian markets, the fourth-generation Harrier was launched in Singapore on 29 January 2021. It is offered in Elegance trim with a regular petrol engine, and Premium and Luxury trims with a hybrid engine. It was also launched in Malaysia on 8 April 2021, offered in a single Luxury trim paired with the 2.0-litre ''
M20A-FKS'' engine and CVT. It is also offered in China under both Harrier and Venza nameplates.
Venza
The Harrier was unveiled in North America as the second-generation
Venza on 18 May 2020. The Venza for this market is only available in a
four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer cas ...
hybrid powertrain. It went on sale in September 2020. Unlike the Harrier, it lacks the grille-mounted fog lamps on all trims. The second-generation Venza for North American market is built alongside the Harrier in Japan at the
Takaoka plant
The Toyota Takaoka Assembly Plant, also known as Takaoka Plant, was built in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan in 1966 to build the first Toyota Corolla (series KE10). Production officially began January 1967 where production was transferred from the Toyot ...
, as opposed to the first-generation model which was built in the United States at
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK) is an automobile manufacturing factory in Georgetown, Kentucky, United States. It is a subsidiary of Toyota Motor North America, itself a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan. The plant assem ...
.
It is offered in LE, XLE and Limited trims.
The Venza is also sold in China by
GAC Toyota
GAC Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. () is an automobile manufacturing company headquartered in Guangzhou, China and a joint-venture between GAC Group and Toyota Motor Company
for manufacturing Toyota's model platform in the Chinese market.
It was founded ...
and produced at the
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
factory. The front fascia differs from the Harrier that is also sold there by
FAW Toyota
Tianjin FAW Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. (TFTM) () is an automobile manufacturing company based in Xiqing District, Tianjin, China. It is a manufacturing and supervising affiliate of the joint venture between Toyota Motor Company and First Automobile ...
, being produced at the
Tianjin
Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...
factory, making China the only country that offers both the Venza and Harrier models.
Engines
Sales
References
External links
* (Japan)
{{Modern North American Toyota trucks
Harrier
Cars introduced in 1997
2000s cars
2010s cars
2020s cars
Compact sport utility vehicles
Mid-size sport utility vehicles
Crossover sport utility vehicles
Front-wheel-drive vehicles
All-wheel-drive vehicles
Hybrid sport utility vehicles
Partial zero-emissions vehicles
Vehicles with CVT transmission
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