Originally Posted by eljefino
What's wrong with the 2008?
Personally, I stay away from first year models, including Toyotas. 2008 was the first year of the Highlander redesign. First year models tend to have the most problems as the manufacturer works the bugs out of them (with the "assistance" of the new owners). The 2010s are fine. It stands to reason that the last year of a model run tends to be the most reliable since they are well sorted-out by then, 2007 was the last year for the previous model run.
Stay away from the 4-cylinder. While the 2.4L & 2.7L engines themselves are robust, the Highlander is too heavy for the engine and it is under powered. For in-town driving at low speeds they are OK, but on the highway they run out of steam and are gutless wonders. If a Highlander is being advertised for what seems like a bargain price it likely has a 4-cylinder engine, there are more of them out there than you might think because the car rental companies bought them in large numbers, so watch out for this. The Toyota dealers had a hard time selling them to the public so most of the 4-cylinders were former rentals.