Toyota Highlander is the family sedan of SUVs

You're not drawn to the Toyota Highlander for its snazzy styling, exhilarating performance, or engaging driving exper­ience. Its appeal lies in its functional, family-friendly nature, frugal gas mileage, consistently good reliability, and good manners. Overall, it combines the practicality of an SUV with the refinement of a good sedan. And year after year, that has helped it rank among the top SUVs we've tested and do well in our owner satisfaction survey.

The redesigned 2014 Highlander maintains its successful formula while boasting several strategic improvements. Styling is a bit edgier, fuel economy has improved, and handling is more responsive, making the vehicle more enjoyable to drive. It's also 3 inches longer, which opens up the interior room, particularly in the second- and third-row seats. All of that is enough to once again make the Highlander one of our top-rated midsized SUVs. We also expect that it will have above-average reliability based on the previous-generation model, so we heartily recommend it.

Our tested vehicle came with a refined and punchy 270-hp, 3.5-liter V6 coupled with a six-speed automatic transmission. We got 20 mpg overall, which ties it with the Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento as the most fuel-efficient midsized SUVs that aren't hybrids or diesels.

If you want better fuel economy, go for the Highlander Hybrid, which is expected to deliver 28 mpg overall based on EPA estimates. But the hybrid powertrain is now available only with the top-of-the-line Limited trim.

Though not really sporty, the Highlander corners soundly, with minimal body lean and prompt turn-in response. The steering is appropriately weighted, but it doesn't provide much feedback. When pushed to its handling limits, the Highlander proved to be predictable and stable.

A trade-off for improved handling is ride comfort that is somewhat less plush than in the previous model. The Highlander feels steadier and more tied down, and it's composed and controlled at highway speeds. But it's not as isolated at low speeds.

Inside, drivers will find a roomy cockpit. The wide front seats are comfortable, well-padded, and supportive. A three-person second-row bench seat lets the Highlander carry up to eight people. Captain's chairs, standard in Limited versions and a $250 option in the XLE version, are comfortable, but they limit capacity to seven people. There is plenty of head and leg room, but the seats are a bit low.

The three-person third-row seat is now wider, but it's still not a great place for adults. There's ample room behind the rear seats for carrying gear, and if you need more space, you can easily fold all of the second- and third-row seats.

Controls are mostly simple, with well-labeled buttons. XLE and Limited versions have a versatile 8-inch touch screen for the infotainment system. You can split the screen display to show more information or to customize the onscreen buttons so that, say, your most often used audio sources are closer to you. Touch-sensitive buttons are easy to use, but they're also easy to activate accidentally by brushing across them.

Connecting your phone via Bluetooth is simple, and voice quality is good. But you can't access your contacts while the vehicle is moving; only recently called numbers are available. Voice commands can be used to launch apps, make phone calls, play music, and enter addresses and find points of interest in the navigation system. It's a very good system that lets you speak naturally. With many Android phones, it will read incoming text messages and allow you to respond by talking, but that's not available for iPhones.

A backup camera is standard on all Highlanders, but you can't get advanced electronic safety features, such as blind-spot monitoring, unless you go for the Limited trim, which costs $3,600 more than the XLE. Moreover, forward-collision warning is available only as part of the $1,400 Technology package or by stepping up to the Limited trim with the Platinum package. Those features are available on competing SUVs for less money.

Overall, the Highlander is an appealing choice that does a lot of things well. Combined with a history of good reliability and good resale value, this redesigned model should be an easy choice for many people.

Best version to get. The XLE trim level offers the best combination of features and value, including standard leather upholstery, a moonroof, a navigation system, and a power tailgate. It also lets you choose between getting a second-row bench seat or captain's chairs. Our all-wheel-drive XLE came to $38,941, which is a competitive price for the features it provides. Still, the floor and cargo mats should be standard rather than a $225 option.