- The 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander is bigger and more spacious than the regular Highlander, but it has more to offer than that.
- The Grand Highlander has three powertrain options, including a 362-hp hybrid configuration from the Toyota Crown quasi-sedan.
- To improve interior packaging and ride comfort compared to the regular version, the Grand Highlander features a redesigned rear suspension.
Toyota will have to forgive people who think the newly unveiled Grand Highlander is simply an XL version of the regular Highlander. The new entry goes beyond being bigger, but assumptions based on size are bound to happen when an adjective like big it’s placed on a popular nameplate, and the Highlander has proven quite popular.
Doing the Highlander Month popular
Over the past two years, Toyota has sold nearly 487,000 Highlanders, making the three-row midsize the second best-selling SUV in the United States, behind only the compact RAV4. However, the brand believes there is more meat on the bone, so it introduces the 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander to satisfy customers who want a large interior without an overly bulky body.
Basically, Toyota hopes the Grand Highlander fills the gap between the full-size Sequoia and the regular Highlander. Dimensionally, it does. At 201.4 inches front to back, the Grand Highlander is 6.5 inches longer than its little brother and about 7 inches shorter than the Sequoia. The Grand also stands 2 inches taller and spans 2.3 inches wider than the regular Highlander. With a 116-inch wheelbase, the larger Highlander’s wheelbase is about 4 inches longer than its counterpart.
Obviously, the Grand Highlander’s increased exterior proportions translate into a roomier interior, especially in the cargo area and third row. Compared to the regular Highlander, the Grand’s rearmost row gains 5.5 inches of legroom (33.5 vs. 28 inches). There’s also an extra inch of headroom and more than 2 inches of extra shoulder room.
This 5’10” author sat in the extended third row and found it really comfortable, even with the second-row captain’s chairs slid back. It’s also nice that Toyota included a USB-C port and two outboard cupholders. passengers back there. Unlike the regular Highlander, the Grand offers ventilated second-row captain’s chairs, but only in the high-spec Platinum trim. The XLE and Limited are the only other models, both are available with a second-row bench that unlocks an additional seat for an eighth passenger.
With seven or eight people aboard, the Grand Highlander boasts 21 cubic feet of cargo volume behind its third row (five more than the smaller version). Folding the seats in the back two rows opens up 98 cubes of storage space, which is 14 more than the regular Highlander.
Big gets more than just a bigger body
The Grand Highlander is built on the same TNGA-K platform that underpins the regular Highlander. Of course, Toyota did more than stretch its proportions. We’re told the Grand’s structure is stiffer overall due to additional spot welds and additional adhesives, which are also expected to help reduce noise, vibration and harshness levels.
Along with improved NVH, the Grand Highlander’s interior packaging and ride comfort are said to benefit from a redesigned rear suspension. Toyota says structural changes to the larger Highlander’s multi-link configuration were designed to maximize space in the third row and cargo area, as well as make the ride more comfortable.
Arguably, the biggest difference between the two Highlanders is the Grand’s exclusive hybrid powertrain (dubbed “Hybrid Max”) which comes from Toyota’s high-riding Crown quasi-sedan. Although it is retuned for use in the Grand Highlander, meaning to support its 5,000-pound maximum towing capacity, the hybrid setup is said to be similar.
Toyota hasn’t released many technical specs about the Grand Highlander’s Hybrid Max powertrain, except that it makes 362 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque. Still, the SUV should continue to pair a turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder with two electric motors. One of them exclusively drives the rear axle (resulting in all-wheel drive), and the other goes between the gasoline engine and the six-speed automatic transmission.
Multiple engines and mature skins
As with the regular Highlander, the Grand is available with a gas-only turbo four and a less powerful hybrid option, giving customers a total of three options. Toyota hasn’t released outputs for either powertrain, but we’re told both are essentially the same, aside from the obligatory tuning changes, of course. In the smaller Highlander, that means a 265-hp 2.4-liter turbo four-pot with an eight-speed automatic and a 2.5-liter four-cylinder with CVT and two electric motors that combine for 243 hp. Toyota estimates the latter will earn up to 34 mpg combined. Both powertrains are available with front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive on the Grand.
While the regular Highlander looks quite distinctive with a prominent side surface, we think the Grand looks more mature. It has a boxier profile that’s topped by an assertive mug, and people say the BMW grilles are oversized? The rest of the design is a requirement of most modern SUVs: a high waistline, lower body cladding and available 20-inch wheels.
Inside, the Grand Highlander Platinum we saw firsthand gave off Lexus vibes with its attractive materials and soft-touch surfaces. While only the top of the line gets a digital rearview mirror and head-up display, it shares a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster with the lower-level Limited. Both trims also get standard leather-trimmed upholstery, a heated steering wheel, heated and ventilated front seats, and heated rear seats.
All three versions of the Grand Highlander have a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. All have a large center console with a wireless charging pad below the physical HVAC unit controls. We also appreciate the sliding cover for the large center console bin, which Toyota says is big enough to hold a tablet.
As with all Toyotas, every Grand Highlander has a wealth of standard driver assistance technology including adaptive cruise control, automated emergency braking, lane keep assist and even blind spot monitoring with rear cross traffic alert. Only the Platinum has a 360-degree camera system.
Toyota has yet to say how much the 2023 Grand Highlander will cost or when it will go on sale. These details are expected to be announced sometime in the coming months. If we had to guess, we expect the new XL version to range from $43,000 to $56,000. That would make it a bit more expensive than the regular Highlander, but don’t forget that the Grand is more than just a size up.
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