The Toyota Highlander is an eight-seat American SUV that we would describe as “pretty darn large indeed,” for the benefit of everyone in the UK reading this. It is roughly the size of a grown-up Land Rover Discovery 5.
And yet, clearly Toyota USA felt that it needed to be bigger. So, give a warm welcome to the new 2024 Grand Highlander. “There is definitely a need in the market for a midsize-SUV that prioritizes interior comfort in all three rows and Grand Highlander is the ultimate option,” says vice president of Lisa Materazzo, Toyota Marketing We are not making this up: midsize.
So, what sets the Grand Highlander apart from the standard Highlander? Well, for starters, it looks different. The Grand is actually constructed on the same TNGA-K platform as its smaller sibling, but it is also much more angular-looking and longer by over 16 cm and wider by 5 cm.
The Indiana-based Calty Design team at Toyota came up with the design, and it will be produced there. Even with all of the seats in place, the boot appears to have room for seven hand luggage suitcases and the third row of seats is described as being “adult-sized.” Yeah, it’s massive.
Three powertrain configurations are available. Toyota says there will also be a 362bhp “Hybrid MAX” option that can complete the 0-60 mph sprint in 6.3 seconds and tow up to 5,000 lbs. The 2.4-liter gasoline and 2.5-litre hybrid engines are likely to be carried over from the standard Highlander. But probably not at the same time. The latter setup will be all-wheel drive only whilst the other two can be specced with either front- or all-wheel drive.
As you might expect, there is a ton of space inside, along with no fewer than 13 cupholders and seven USB-C charge ports. There is a 12.3-inch central infotainment screen and wireless phone connectivity is standard.
We currently only have that much information. Toyota claims to confirm pricing this summer, but anticipate that the Grand will begin at or above $40,000.
Source: www.topgear.com
