How Many Seats Does a Toyota Highlander Have?

The 2022 Toyota Highlander comes with either seven or eight seats, depending on the options selected at purchase.
Written by R.E. Fulton
Reviewed by Jessica Barrett
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The 2022 Toyota Highlander is available with either seven or eight seats, depending on the options selected at purchase. 
Thanks to its generous seating capacity and sturdy safety features, the 2022 Toyota Highlander is a great three-row crossover SUV for families, especially families with lots of young children. Available all-wheel drive (AWD) and a hybrid powertrain with great fuel economy add to the Highlander’s strengths. 
But before you head to the dealership to take the Highlander for a test drive, it’s worth knowing how many seats you’ll be getting. 
Enter
Jerry
, the
trusted broker app
with the Toyota Highlander specs and
car insurance quotes
you need. We’ll go over seating options for the 2022 Highlander, show you a few other Toyota vehicles that can seat up to eight, and throw in some tips to help you lower your
Toyota Highlander insurance costs

How many seats does the 2022 Toyota Highlander have?

Standard seating capacity for the 2022 Toyota Highlander varies based on trim level: 
  • L and LE: 8 seats
  • XLE and above: 7 seats 
In the Highlander’s upper trims, the second-row bench seat is automatically replaced by two captain’s chairs, improving the interior’s comfort but cutting the overall seating capacity down by one. However, buyers have the option to put the second-row bench seat back for no additional cost.  

Do all Highlanders have three rows of seats?

While the total number of seats in a Highlander varies depending on trim and customizations, every Highlander has third-row seats
Unfortunately, that back seat is a serious weak spot for what’s otherwise a strong player in the midsize SUV class: with just 27.7 inches of legroom, the 2022 Highlander’s third row is suited for kids only. For more detail, take a look at
our post on the Toyota Highlander third row seating.
 
Not sure if the Toyota Highlander’s interior will meet your family’s needs? Below is a more detailed breakdown of interior specs, features, and highlights for the 2022 Highlander.
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2022 Toyota Highlander interior

The Toyota Highlander’s interior is well-appointed, with good visibility and plentiful tech. As soon as you step inside, you’ll notice the high build quality associated with Toyota in most of what you see around you
You’ll also notice that it’s cramped. While the front seats have plenty of headroom and legroom, that changes rapidly when you hit that all-important third row. The cargo space behind that back seat is also paltry by midsize SUV standards, making the Highlander a shaky pick for families who do a lot of road-tripping, camping, or other cargo-heavy activities. 

Dimensions

Let’s start by taking a closer look at the seating dimensions for the 2022 Highlander. As you’ll see from the table below, the front and second-row seats are fairly spacious. The trouble only begins in the rear seat, where legroom, headroom, and hip room aren’t really suited to passengers past grade school.
Seating dimensions
Total passenger volume
141.3 cubic feet
Front headroom
41.2 inches
Front leg room
42 inches
Front shoulder room
59 inches
Front hip room
57.2 inches
Second-row headroom
39.4 inches
Second-row legroom
41 inches
Second-row shoulder room
58.7 inches
Second-row hip room
57 inches
Third-row headroom
36.1 inches
Third-row legroom
27.7 inches
Third-row shoulder room
55 inches
Third-row hip room
45.6 inches
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Cargo space

Cargo space
is another Achilles’ heel for the Highlander. With both rows of rear seats folded down, the Highlander’s total cargo volume maxes out at 84.3 cubic feet—a perfectly respectable, if less-than-impressive figure. 
But if you’re trying to transport people and cargo at the same time, you’ll find the Highlander’s storage disappointing. With only the third row of seats down, the cargo volume shrinks to 48.4 cubic feet, and with all seats in use, that space dwindles to a mere 16 cubic feet
For comparison, the Kia Telluride’s cargo volume starts at a total of 87 cubic feet with all rear seats folded down and goes down to 21 cubic feet behind the third row. The Telluride also starts $3,000 behind the more-expensive Highlander, making it a better pick for busy families shopping on a budget. 
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Which other Toyota vehicles can seat eight people?

If you’re looking for the Toyota with the perfect fit for your family, knowing the seating capacity is essential. The Highlander can seat seven or eight passengers depending on trim level and options, but it’s not the only Toyota with seating for eight. 
The Toyota Sienna minivan, like the Highlander, can seat seven or eight. Eight seats are standard for the base LE trim, thanks to a second-row bench seat, but higher trims bring the seating capacity down to seven with captain’s chairs. Another advantage the Sienna and Highlander share is a hybrid powertrain, standard on all Sienna models and the Toyota Highlander Hybrid. Both hybrids get an EPA-rated 36 mpg in combined city and highway driving! 
Another Toyota eight-seater is the Sequoia, a full-size
three-row SUV.
A seven-seat configuration is available on upper trims, but the base Sequoia trim offers three rows of seats roomy enough for adult or child passengers. 
Those are the only Toyotas you can buy with seats for eight passengers. The Toyota 4Runner SUV seats up to seven, while the smaller RAV4 and C-HR seat just five passengers. Toyota sedans, like the Camry or the Toyota Corolla, have space for five passengers, while pickups like the beloved Tacoma can seat four to five passengers depending on cab size. 

How to save on Toyota Highlander insurance costs

The Toyota Highlander is a great SUV for large families with small kids—but it’s not the cheapest to insure, especially if you spring for one of the cushier upper trims. But with help from Jerry, you can keep your insurance costs low without sacrificing comfort. 
As a licensed insurance broker,
Jerry
partners with over 55 of the nation’s top insurance providers to find you the best quotes, customized to your personal driver profile. Within 45 seconds of downloading the app, you’ll get a set of real-time quotes that could help you lower your annual insurance costs by an average of $800+! 
“When we added a new car to our family, we were shocked at how high our current insurer was going to hike our rates. We used
Jerry
for some comparison shopping and are now saving around $1000 a year. Thank you, Jerry!” —Darius P.
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