The 2021 Highlander XSE also gets a more aggressive look.
Steven Pham/RoadshowToyota's Safety Sense package is in for some new gear, according to a document sent to fleet customers, and we'll likely first see the updates on the 2021 Highlander SUV.
CarsDirect reported Thursday on a bulletin sent to fleet customers that made a mention of "Toyota Safety Sense 2.5." The package has long included a number of driver-assist and active safety features for drivers. The update will apparently add enhancements to the precollision system to support left turns at an intersection. Additionally, the adaptive cruise control system will reportedly add something called "Curve Speed Management" and the lane-keep assist feature will grow smarter to read lines better. Finally, a new feature dubbed "Risk Avoidance Emergency Steering" will be onboard.
Toyota declined to comment on the document and the features named.
Some of the new features could coincide with updates pushed to the Lexus Safety System Plus, which debuted with the 2021 Lexus IS last week. We won't know, however, until Toyota makes any changes official.
What does seem rather odd is the fact Toyota apparently won't roll all of the new features out to every new 2021 model. The report points out that while the 2021 Highlander and Highlander Hybrid will obtain the extra driver-assist and active safety tech, the 2021 Venza won't, the document says. Other 2021 models like the RAV4 Prime will stick with Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 as well.
In any case, it sounds like Toyota's latest updates will at least start to trickle into new vehicles, slowly but surely.
Discuss: 2021 Toyota Highlander to debut updated Safety Sense package, report says
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