If you fell in love the first time you saw the Lexus RX 300, sport utility, then saw the sticker and realized there wasn’t going to be one in your garage, here’s some good news. Now, there’s an affordable vehicle that could be termed a less expensive version of Lexus’ popular SUV — the new, 2001 Toyota Highlander.

The Highlander is built on the same platform, offers the same V6 and features the same basic interior look as the RX 300, but at a sticker price that is significantly less.

The Highlander is built at Toyota’s Kyushu plant in Japan, where the RX 300 and the Lexus ES 300 sedan — both of which rate very high in independent quality surveys — are assembled as well.

The marketeers at Toyota believed when they developed the upscale RX 300 that a similar, Toyota-branded vehicle offering less luxury for a lot less money would have wide appeal — and they were right. Not to mention the fact Toyota dealers have been clamoring for an RX-like vehicle for years.

The Highlander joins Toyota’s other midsize SUV, the 4Runner, marking the first time Toyota has had two midsize sport utes on the showroom floor at the same time.

The differences in these two SUVs is clearly differentiated however. The Highlander is more car-like and smooth than the truckish 4Runner in both ride and handling. It’s also the first midsize Toyota SUV to utilize car-like unibody construction. That makes the vehicle body stiffer and the floor lower than truck-based, body-on-frame vehicles like the 4Runner, while still offering a respectable 6.9 inches of ground clearance. The lower floor in the Highlander also makes it much easier to get in and out of, so running boards are unnecessary.

Under the hood, the numbers for the upscale, 3.0-liter DOHC V6 with variable valve timing are the same as the RX 300 — 220 horses and 222 lb-ft of torque. However, the standard Highlander powerplant is a 2.4-liter DOHC 4-cylinder with variable valve timing — a larger-displacement variation of the engine in Toyota’s compact SUV, the RAV4. It puts out 155 horses and 163 lb-ft of torque at 4000 rpm.

The only transmission offered is a 4-speed automatic — with the gear shift lever situated at the bottom of the middle of the dashboard — exactly like the one in the RX 300.

The Highlander offers respectful fuel economy for an SUV, with the top-of-the-line 4-wheel drive V6 rated at 18 mpg in the city and 22 highway.

I had ample opportunity to drive this vehicle in both configurations. I put the V6 through its paces in and around the Pacific Northwest, while spending a fair amount of time behind the wheel of the four-banger in the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina — including the drive from Hartsfield Airport and back.

Always being one who opts for more horsepower — no matter what — I was impressed by the way the 4-cylinder handled the freeways and traffic around Atlanta as well as the mountain roads in North Carolina.

The Highlander comes in both two and 4-wheel-drive configurations. The 4X4 utilizes a center differential with viscous coupling and is a full-time system that doesn’t require driver activation. But compared with the 4Runner, the Highlander doesn’t offer an extra-low gear for serious off-roading either.

On the highway, the Highlander handles as well as you expect any SUV to. The suspension, which features independent front and rear MacPherson struts, and the 16 inch tires it rides on, are the same as the RX 300. But the Highlander uses stiffer springs and shock absorbers with a thicker stabilizer bar.

This provides the Highlander with a firmer ride than the RX 300, but it’s definitely more car-like than truckish. As with any SUV, I experienced some body lean when motoring through corners — especially on the tight winding mountain roads in western North Carolina.

Inside, the Highlander offers a more straightforward instrumentation design than the RX 300, which, with its pod-like protrusions and gimmicky dashboard, I personally have always viewed as kind of odd.

The interiors of both vehicles have a spacious, airy feeling due to the amount of glass, but at just slightly four inches taller than the RX 300, the Highlander actually has a bit more headroom. The Highlander is also slightly wider giving it a bit more shoulder and hip room as well. With the rear seats folded down, the cargo area boasts 81.4 cubic feet of space — more than either the RX 300 or the 4Runner.

In North Carolina, we got to see just how much space that actually is, emptying a mini-storage locker we keep there and filling the Highlander with enough camping gear to accommodate 13 people for two weeks. This meant 3 two-room tents, two 10’ X 10’ shelters, at least a dozen good-sized coolers, half a dozen plastic 10 cubic foot plastic storage containers, a complete camp kitchen including two stand-up stoves and all the other assorted trappings needed to spend two and half weeks camping comfortably in the mountains. All this took only two trips between the mini-storage and the campground.

It’s well worth noting the Highlander’s front seatbacks also fully recline, and by removing the front passenger seat head restraint and laying the seatback all the way down, 8-foot-long items — like fishing rods — will fit inside.

But for all the mechanics the Highlander and RX 300 share, it isn’t apparent that the two are siblings when parked side-by-side. Personally, I think the Highlander’s styling gives it nicer proportions than the, sleeker, more rounded RX 300, and will prove to be more timeless as well.

Based on the price differential, it goes without saying there has to be fewer standard features on the Highlander than on the RX 300. Side airbags and skid control for example are standard on the RX 300 but options on the Highlander. Toyota also uses less-expensive upholstery — yes, even the leather — as well as a lower grade stereo. However, no problems with the materials or radio in either test vehicle caught my eye. Besides, power windows, door locks, cruise control, anti-lock brakes, air conditioning and an AM/FM/CD/Cassette stereo are all standard on the Highlander.

With an MSRP of around $24,000 including destination charges for a two wheel-drive model with 4-cylinder, the Highlander is around $10,000 less than a base RX 300. But it’s easy to run the price up. One of our test models, with the V6, leather interior and other options, stickered at more than $31,000. That seems like a lot for a midsize Toyota SUV — but it’s still less than the lowest-priced RX 300, which starts at around $34,000.

Whines: The Highlander doesn’t currently offer third row seating— although this is seriously being considered — so maximum passenger capacity is five — but the vehicle already has a flat interior floor. No low range on the 4-wheel drive. If you trick it all the way out, it can get spendy.

Applause: The Highlander shares many of the Lexus RX 300 components at less money. It offers an excellent ride, good handling for an SUV and has more cargo room than both the RX 300 and the 4Runner. Both engines perform exceptionally well — something unusual in many base model vehicles.

Bottom Line: Assembled in the same plant as the RX 300 and LS 300, the Toyota Highlander is a well-built vehicle, boasting legendary Toyota quality and dependability. It’s functional, roomy and offers a timeless styling that should also help it hold its value over the years.