Toyota Reveals the Stretched Grand Highlander UPDATED

by Chris Teague

Published: February 8th, 2023

toyota reveals the stretched grand highlander updated

The Toyota Highlander has long offered three rows of seating and is a formidable family hauler that stands up to the toughest competition in its segment in the areas where it counts most. Even so, three-row SUVs often lack a comfortable “way-back” seat, and even when they do, cargo space is usually seriously compromised. Toyota aims to fix that with the 2024 Grand Highlander, which it says offers an adult-sized third-row seat.

The Grand Highlander is available with three powertrain options, including the turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder from the standard SUV, a 2.5-liter hybrid option, and a brand-new Hybrid Max powertrain with 362 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque. Toyota says the Max makes the Grand Highlander its most powerful midsize SUV yet and notes a 0-60 mph time of 6.3 seconds.

Ed. note -- We now have some images from last night's event. They are sprinkled throughout this post.

Some stretched SUVs look awkward with the added real estate, but Toyota managed to extend the Highlander without giving it the bubble-butt look that the Land Rover Defender 130 gained with its extra interior space. The Grand Highlander comes with 20-inch wheels, and the Hybrid Max powertrain is available with a dual exhaust system.

Faux-wood trim and soft-touch materials cover the dash, and the front seats get independent armrests that remain usable when the center console is open. The Limited and Platinum trims add leather upholstery with power seat adjustments, and models with the Hybrid Max powertrain get Ultrasuede. Beyond having actually usable third-row seats, the SUV offers 98 cubic feet of cargo space with the seats folded down, and can still hold larger items with the third row upright.

Tech includes a standard 12.3-inch infotainment display with Toyota’s new and oh-so-much-better interface. Over-the-air updates are now standard, and the system features cloud navigation and app services. The new system runs wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, SiriusXM radio, and Google points-of-interest search. A JBL 11-speaker audio system is available.

Toyota said pricing and release date details would be available closer to the Grand Highlander’s release date this summer. It will be built at the automaker’s facility in Princeton, Indiana.

Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.

#ToyotaHighlander #toyotagrandhighlander #threerowsuvs

Chris Teague

Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.

More by Chris Teague

Comments

Join the conversation

3 of 44 comments

Zipper69 on Feb 10, 2023

Is the Lexus model gonna go this way?

Like Reply
- ToolGuy on Feb 11, 2023
  
  That B pillar has a lot going on.
  
  Like
Zipper69 on Feb 11, 2023

The Lexus "shark grille" has always spoiled their appearance, IMHO.
But it's bling that the masses go for...

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Slavuta Autonomous cars can be used by terrorists.
W Conrad I'm not afraid of them, but they aren't needed for everyone or everywhere. Long haul and highway driving sure, but in the city, nope.
Jalop1991 In a manner similar to PHEV being the correct answer, I declare RPVs to be the correct answer here.We're doing it with certain aircraft; why not with cars on the ground, using hardware and tools like Telsa's "FSD" or GM's "SuperCruise" as the base?Take the local Uber driver out of the car, and put him in a professional centralized environment from where he drives me around. The system and the individual car can have awareness as well as gates, but he's responsible for the driving.Put the tech into my car, and let me buy it as needed. I need someone else to drive me home; hit the button and voila, I've hired a driver for the moment. I don't want to drive 11 hours to my vacation spot; hire the remote pilot for that. When I get there, I have my car and he's still at his normal location, piloting cars for other people.The system would allow for driver rest period, like what's required for truckers, so I might end up with multiple people driving me to the coast. I don't care. And they don't have to be physically with me, therefore they can be way cheaper.Charge taxi-type per-mile rates. For long drives, offer per-trip rates. Offer subscriptions, including miles/hours. Whatever.(And for grins, dress the remote pilots all as Johnnie.)Start this out with big rigs. Take the trucker away from the long haul driving, and let him be there for emergencies and the short haul parts of the trip.And in a manner similar to PHEVs being discredited, I fully expect to be razzed for this brilliant idea (not unlike how Alan Kay wasn't recognized until many many years later for his Dynabook vision).
B-BodyBuick84 Not afraid of AV's as I highly doubt they will ever be %100 viable for our roads. Stop-and-go downtown city or rush hour highway traffic? I can see that, but otherwise there's simply too many variables. Bad weather conditions, faded road lines or markings, reflective surfaces with glare, etc. There's also the issue of cultural norms. About a decade ago there was actually an online test called 'The Morality Machine' one could do online where you were in control of an AV and choose what action to take when a crash was inevitable. I think something like 2.5 million people across the world participated? For example, do you hit and most likely kill the elderly couple strolling across the crosswalk or crash the vehicle into a cement barrier and almost certainly cause the death of the vehicle occupants? What if it's a parent and child? In N. America 98% of people choose to hit the elderly couple and save themselves while in Asia, the exact opposite happened where 98% choose to hit the parent and child. Why? Cultural differences. Asia puts a lot of emphasis on respecting their elderly while N. America has a culture of 'save/ protect the children'. Are these AV's going to respect that culture? Is a VW Jetta or Buick Envision AV going to have different programming depending on whether it's sold in Canada or Taiwan? how's that going to effect legislation and legal battles when a crash inevitibly does happen? These are the true barriers to mass AV adoption, and in the 10 years since that test came out, there has been zero answers or progress on this matter. So no, I'm not afraid of AV's simply because with the exception of a few specific situations, most avenues are going to prove to be a dead-end for automakers.
Mike Bradley Autonomous cars were developed in Silicon Valley. For new products there, the standard business plan is to put a barely-functioning product on the market right away and wait for the early-adopter customers to find the flaws. That's exactly what's happened. Detroit's plan is pretty much the opposite, but Detroit isn't developing this product. That's why dealers, for instance, haven't been trained in the cars.