2024 Toyota Grand Highlander

How does the Grand Highlander drive? The Grand Highlander's four-cylinder makes plenty of torque at low rpm, and that helps make the Grand Highlander pleasant to drive around town. But it starts to run out of steam at highway speeds or when you've got a full load of passengers aboard. The available Hybrid Max powertrain will likely be ideal if you can swing it. At the Edmunds test track, our all-wheel-drive Grand Highlander accelerated from 0 to 60 mph in 8 seconds flat, which is a bit slower than most V6-equipped three-row midsize SUVs.

Thankfully, the Grand Highlander's ability to stop quickly and confidently as well as negotiate a twisty road is still pretty admirable. The available torque-vectoring AWD system, which helps by applying engine power to individual rear wheels, provides subtle enhancements to the Grand Highlander's handling balance. (It also has the usual benefit of extra traction in slick conditions.) All in all, the Grand Highlander is easy to drive, which is the most important quality here.

How comfortable is the Grand Highlander? The Grand Highlander's ride quality is pleasantly plush. Large and small road imperfections are smoothed over thanks to the compliant suspension, yet it avoids feeling floaty at higher speeds. The front seats are comfortable even on long drives, and the available second-row captain's chairs (which our test Grand Highlander had) provide nearly the same level of comfort. The big gain here compared to the standard Highlander is a much more comfortable third row. The padding is of course a bit thinner to help facilitate folding, but the third row sits higher off the floor, making for much-improved legroom and a position suitable for adults.

The climate controls are easy to use and a slight aesthetic upgrade over the Highlander. The standard tri-zone system provides ample heating and cooling capacity, which helps make up for the mild seat heat and ventilation. The Grand Highlander's cabin isn't the best when it comes to blocking out road or ambient noise, but it isn't bad either. You don't really hear much of the four-cylinder engine when cruising along, but any request for substantial acceleration will reveal its less refined soundtrack.

How’s the interior? If an accommodating third row is important to you, then consider the Grand Highlander one of the top options. The first and second seating rows provide ample space, and now the third row is finally fit, and dare we say comfortable, for adults. Up front, it's easy to find your preferred driving position, but taller drivers might wish for a bit more extension range from the telescoping steering wheel and thigh cushion adjustment.

Just like the Highlander, we give the Grand Highlander high marks for outward visibility. The front roof pillars are thin, helping you see around turns. Some of the Grand Highlander's available technology features help too, such as the camera-based rearview mirror that allows you to see out of the back even if you've fully loaded up the cargo area. The available surround-view camera system is sharp and can be rotated to look around the vehicle, and there's a cool "see-through" feature that leverages the cameras to see any ground markings that you've driven over.

How’s the storage? The Grand Highlander has more cargo space than a regular Highlander. Behind the third row, there's now nearly 5 extra cubic feet of space, totaling 20.6 cubes. That's comparable to Volkswagen Atlas and Kia Telluride. Behind the second row, it expands to an even more impressive 57.9 cubic feet, maxing out at an outstanding 97.5 cubic feet with all rows folded. You shouldn't have any trouble loading up luggage for a family road trip.

As for cabin storage for small items, the Grand Highlander makes praiseworthy improvements as well. There's better storage ahead of the gear selector plus more generous cupholders. The underarm storage also feels deep and larger than what's in the regular Highlander. The second row gets useful door cubbies as well as a removable center storage area that has space for phones plus a couple of secure cupholders. Even the third row has two cupholders per side and phone storage space.

Got small children? A large rear-facing car seat will easily be accommodated in the second row thanks to the generous amount of fore/aft sliding movement of the available captain's chairs. The car seat anchors are also easy to locate and access for all types of child safety seats, including two sets of anchors if you are putting littles in the third row.

Is the Grand Highlander a good value? Small touches in the Grand Highlander go a long way to make it feel more premium than the Highlander. The interior is solidly put together with soft, padded surfaces where they matter most. If it wasn't for some laughably fake-looking wood trim, there could be whispers of semi-luxury vibes in here. The Grand Highlander does carry a bit of a price premium, but given the fundamental upgrades, we think it's still good value.

Toyota's warranty coverage is pretty common for the class with three years/36,000 miles of bumper-to-bumper coverage and five years/60,000 miles for the powertrain. The first two years of scheduled maintenance are also free.

Alas, among all the thoughtful touches and improvements Toyota made with the Grand Highlander, it's odd that the designers decided to wrap it all up in rather anonymous style. Even the exterior styling of the Highlander pushed a few boundaries and gave it some character, allowing it to stand out in the sea of suburbia. Not so with the Grand Highlander. It's not offensive, but the slab-sided flanks and all-too-textbook front and rear end are absent any real personality.