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The Toyota Highlander was of the first midsize car-based crossovers when it debuted in 2000, and the 2005 Highlander Hybrid basically blazed the trail for other fuel-sipping SUVs to follow. But this Toyota’s third row has always been a point of contention. It’s fine for kids or small adults in a pinch, but its tight confines sent buyers who genuinely needed the extra seating capacity to newer rivals like the Volkswagen Atlas, Honda Pilot and Kia Telluride.
Toyota has finally addressed that shortcoming with the new 2024 Grand Highlander, a new model that will sell alongside the existing Highlander. For the first time, Toyota’s midsize mainstay is serious about a third row that’s more than just an ornamental afterthought.
2024 Grand Highlander: 5.5-Inches More Third Row Legroom
The key metric behind the Grand Highlander’s very existence is this: 33.5 inches of third-row legroom. That’s 5.5 more inches than the 28 inches provided by the current standard 2023 Highlander and just 0.2 inches shy of Volkswagen’s roomy Atlas, long the best in class in this area. Likewise, shoulder room increases by 2.5 inches to 55.7 inches and headroom increases by 1.1 inch to 37.2; hip room is up by a negligible one-tenth of an inch to 45.7 inches.
Cargo room is increased too, though Toyota has only said so far that there’s a total of “20.6 cubic-feet of space behind the third row and a maximum of 97.5 cubic-feet of space” with all seats folded down. The current 2023 Highlander has 16 and 84.3 cubic feet in the same metrics; whether that additional space comes from a modified platform or simply enlarger rear bodywork remains to be seen, though we lean in the direction of the latter.
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XXL Style
The 2024 Grand Highlander’s wheelbase remains a bit of a mystery. It’s overall length is 201.4 inches, about an inch longer than the Atlas six and a half inches longer standard Highlander. But that growth could easily be achieved with a clever reshaping of the bodywork. Even the rear doors, which were already somewhat generously sized on the standard Highlander, appear to have been stretched only slightly; there’s a bit of an optical illusion in play as the sill has been lowered and the roof line is slightly higher.
What we can tell, however, is that all of the bodywork is new. The official line from Toyota is that the Grand Highlander is “inspired by the Highlander shape but in an entirely new way.” Gone is the Highlander’s excessive body contouring that runs from the front wheel arches and across doors, replaced by comparably flat stretches of real estate punctuated with just a tiny crease running across the lower door panels.
The bulk of the added mass comes from behind the rear doors, where the roofline and a larger rear section make no attempt to pinch together as they do with the Highlander, instead inflating into a larger-full-size like rear section. Despite front and rear overhangs that appear proportionally equivalent to the Highlander, the front and rear fascias have been reworked to maintain a unique identity. This is a little similar to the Jeep Grand Cherokee and its stretched three-row variant, the Grand Cherokee L, but the two Highlanders look a little more different from eachother than the Jeeps do.
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Three Powertrains: Two Hybrids and a Turbo
The Grand Highlander offers a choice of three powertrains, starting with the 2.4-liter turbocharged gasoline engine. The same engine that recently debuted in the 2023 highlander, it’s rated at 265 horsepower with 310 pound-feet of torque and is paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission in that application. Buyers have a choice of front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.
Next up is a 2.5-liter hybrid and the ultimate engine. Again, Toyota hasn’t nailed down the specifics, but we fully expect this to be the same or similar to the unit currently in use in the Highlander, which is rated for 243 net system horsepower and 175 lb-ft of torque paired to a continuously variable automatic transmission. Buyers have a choice of front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.
The marque powertrain is Toyota’s Hybrid MAX with 362-horsepower 400-pound feet of torque, and standard AWD. It also has an available dual exhaust setup. Again, Toyota hasn’t nailed down the specifics, but we fully expect this to be a version of the similar unit currently in use in Toyota Crown Platinum and Lexus RX500h. Toyota is claiming a 0 to 60 time of 6.3 seconds for this version. It’s also rated to tow 5000 pounds.
All three powertrain options come with three Drive Modes (Sport, Eco, Normal) while the gas AWD and Hybrid MAX powertrains also have Multi-Terrain Select with Three Modes (Mud & Sand, Rock & Dirt, Snow).
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Three Levels of Grand
The Grand Highlander launches with three trims: XLE, Limited and Platinum with a choice of all three powertrains. The base XLE features 18-inch wheels, heated exterior side mirrors, roof rails and a painted black grille. Interior appointments include synthetic upholstery, heated front seats (10-way power driver, 8-way power-adjustable passenger) a choice of second-row bench or captain’s chairs, a 12.3-inch infotainment screen, six USB ports and wireless charging.
The Limited ups the wheels to 20 inches, adds power-folding rearview mirrors and LED driving and fog lamps. The upgrade also gets you leather upholstery, heated and ventilated front seats and heated rears, a heated steering wheel, ambient lighting, an A/C power outlet and more. Technotainmant upgrades include JBL audio and a 12.3-inch driver instrument panel screen. (XLE is just 7 inches.)
Platinum adds unique 20-inch alloy wheels, paddle shifters (base gas engine with AWD and Hybrid Max), heated and ventilated rear seats, a head-up display and a few additional treats.
TSS 3.0 (Toyota Safety Sense generation 3.0) is standard. It includes forward collision warning with automatic braking and pedestrian detection, land departure warning with steering assist, adaptive cruise control, road sign recognition and automatic high beams. The 2024 Grand Highlander also ships with Toyota’s Proactive Driving Assist, which provides gentle braking into curves or gentle braking and/or steering to help support driving tasks such as distance control between a preceding vehicle, pedestrian or bicyclist.
2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Price and On Sale Date
Designed by Toyota’s Calty Design Studios and manufactured at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing plant in Princeton, Indiana, the price and on-sale date of the all-new 2024 Grand Highlander will be announced in summer of 2023.
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