Toyota sells a lot of different SUVs, but none of them are quite an ideal fit large families. The Highlander gets tight if you go for the third kid; the Sequoia is beefier, but lacks cargo space to an almost comical extent behind the third row. For the 2024 model year, however, Toyota is taking another crack at getting that family mix with a new three-row family hauler to slot between them: the Grand Highlander.
Grand Highlander sounds (not coincidentally) like the Jeep Grand Cherokee. And that's the paradigm Toyota hopes to follow with it. Buyers really dig the Highlander. The Grand Highlander builds on that appeal by being bigger, bolder, more premium-feeling and more capable on-road. It's a big Toyota SUV that's tailored for Costco trips rather than crossing the Serengeti.
Toyota brought me to Hawaii to drive the Grand Highlander for a day (and, yes, check out the all-new 2024 Tacoma). Cruising the Big Island's plush Kohala Mountain Road was, literally and figuratively, about as far away from "celebrating the chaos" of family life as I could get. But it did provide a useful sample of what the all-new crossover has to offer — which is quite a bit.
The 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander: What We Think
Building the Grand Highlander was a no-brainer for Toyota, and they executed it well. The Grand Highlander is more than a stretched Highlander. It looks stately (my wife asked me for details about it after only seeing a picture); it's comfortable to drive; and the trio of powertrains offers buyers a broad range of performance and efficiency that competitive midsize three-row kid haulers can't match.
Technically, Toyota had this efficient, practical niche covered with the Sienna. But the Grand Highlander does minivan duty without slapping you in your face with your parenthood status every time you look at it — which is important. The Grand Highlander will be a sales hit for Toyota, and it deserves to be.
All three Grand Highlander engine options have their virtues
Three-row family haulers largely stick with mediocre, naturally-aspirated, not-so-efficient V6 powertrains. The Grand Highlander offers three different engines, and none of them are a dreary V6. Two choices come from the Highlander: a turbocharged 2.4-liter gas engine delivers 265 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque; a 2.5-liter hybrid puts out 243 hp and earns 34 mpg combined. The Grand Highlander also adds the Hybrid Max setup from the Crown, making 362 hp and 400 lb-ft.
I drove all three of them, hoping to find a clear best choice. But I think you could make a case for any of the three.
I spent the longest time in the full-pelt Hybrid Max Grand Highlander. It doesn't convert the Grand Highlander into a rocket ship. But 0-60 mph in 6.3 seconds in a big SUV is booking it. The six-speed automatic transmission is seamless and intuitive. Power and torque are there in abundance when you need them. While deploying a fair bit of Sport mode, however, I did struggle to meet the EPA's 27 mpg combined estimate, averaging only 21.5 mpg.
The more efficient hybrid converts the Grand Highlander into a big Prius ... but is that such a bad thing? The XLE I drove is rated for 34 mpg. I averaged 40.7 mpg on a mostly flat seaside route while exercising some deliberately light pedal work. There isn't really a reasonably-priced three-row electric family hauler on the market yet (stay tuned for the Kia EV9). So if you want an efficient one of those, this is about as good as it gets.
I also really liked the straight-up gas engine. Running short on time, I took the gas Grand Highlander up the curvy mountain road Toyota wanted us to go down. The four-pot gamely laid down the torque and hauled the Grand Highlander up thousands of feet without breaking a sweat.
Toyota sort of helps you decide between the engines with the pricing. The Hybrid Max costs a premium. It only comes on Limited and Platinum trims and starts at $54,050. Overthinkers like me could end up in a debate between that the Platinum AWD gas ($53,545), the Limited Hybrid ($51,060) and the Limited Hybrid Max. Most buyers will probably yolo it with the Hybrid Max, and I can't really blame them.
The Grand Highlander is tuned for comfort
Toyota didn’t design the Grand Highlander for driving at the cutting knife edge. It is reasonably direct and responsive to steering inputs. Body control is solid. But the ride delivers a similar soft, floaty feeling that you get in the Sienna minivan and the Highlander. You don’t get a tremendous amount of road feedback. And that's fine.
The Grand Highlander isn't a car that's going to be driven like a Lotus. Most parents don't need to feel every undulation and nuance on the way to their kid's third baseball game that week. And the benefit of that soft tuning is that bumps stay out of the Grand Highlander's cabin.
The Grand Highlander's interior is family-friendly
The Grand Highlander’s raison d’être is to be a bit more versatile and family-friendly for three-plus kids than the Highlander. In that respect, Toyota succeeded. A troop of seven passengers can stay hydrated (13 total cup and bottle holders) and charged (seven USB-C ports, tablet storage, wireless charging). The third-row seating is adult-sized; I was able to sit back there comfortably at 5’11”. And you can opt for cooled seats that will keep the first two rows of butts comfortably ventilated in the summer.
The trunk space behind the third row isn't groundbreaking, at 20.6 cubic feet. (I question the Tetris that Toyota used to claim you can fit seven suitcases back there.) But it felt on par with competitors, and adequate for a grocery shop or a day at the beach with the third row in use.
The Toyota Grand Highlander has its eyes on you
Platinum trim Grand Highlanders use a new Toyota facial recognition system. It allows the vehicle to recognize different drivers and automatically load their user profile and stereo settings — great if you have a partner with a questionable affinity for pop country.
I didn't have time to test that. So my experience was mostly the system repeatedly telling me to sit up and stop slouching (presumably so it could better monitor me). It was advice I probably needed. However, I'd take the Kia Telluride recognizing I've been driving for an hour and diving in with a light lower back realignment over repeated shrill reminders.
What are some Toyota Grand Highlander alternatives?
Three-row midsize family crossovers are popular with buyers and profitable. And not surprisingly the options have been proliferating. Toyota built the Grand Highlander to compete against the larger and more luxurious end of that segment Toyota listed its main competition as the Jeep Grand Cherokee L, the Chevy Traverse, the Kia Telluride, the Volkswagen Atlas and the Honda Pilot.
The Grand Highlander doesn't match up with the off-road chops of the Grand Cherokee L or the Honda Pilot Trailsport. It's not quite as dialed in as the Telluride. But none of those competitors can match up with the versatility of Toyota's powertrains.
2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Platinum Hybrid Max
- Powertrain: Turbocharged 2.4-liter hybrid; 6-speed automatic; AWD
- Horsepower: 362
- Torque: 400 lb-ft
- EPA Fuel Economy: 26 mpg city, 27 mpg highway
- Price: $58,125 (base)
