2024 Toyota Grand Highlander First Drive Review: Toyota’s Telluride Hits All Its Marks

Having sat in the third rows of both vehicles, I can report that the Grand Highlander is indeed grander than the non-Grand Highlander. While the regular Highlander’s third row is very much reserved for babies and small children, the Grand Highlander can actually fit most adults quite comfortably. For reference, I am five-foot-eight—five-nine with shoes on, five-ten if you measure from the tip of my hair, five-eleven adjusting for “everybody else lies” inflation, six-three on Hinge—and I can sit back there with both head- and legroom to spare, but I suspect those who are six-three in reality will still very much prefer a seat in this SUV’s first or second rows. 

And while we’ve got the measuring tape out, the Grand Highlander boasts precisely 2.1 inches more legroom in the third row than both the Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride.

There are three powertrains to choose from: the regular volume-selling gas version uses a 2.4-liter turbo-four making 265 horsepower while the more efficient Hybrid uses a naturally aspirated 2.5-liter and an electric motor making 245 hp combined. The one you want, though, is the Hybrid Max which combines the turbo 2.4 and electrification to deliver 362 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque. For those keeping track, that’s only 20 hp shy of and 32 more lb-ft than Toyota’s own six-cylinder Supra sports car. 

To drive, the Grand Highlander lives up to its name in handling like a slightly larger version of Toyota’s existing Highlander. That’s to say inputs are accessibly light and the ride is really smooth, agreeable, and quiet—the level of refinement here, in fact, would not feel out of place in an entry-to-mid-level Lexus. It also feels substantial moving down the road but not overly bulky. 

Steering and suspension are both expertly calibrated for simple, everyday driving and the former even exhibits a surprising crispness that makes taking a corner fairly enjoyable. The brakes do what they’ve been hired to do, bringing all 4,000-plus pounds of Toyota SUV to a stop smoothly.

Of the three powertrains, the regular gas is, naturally, the most “regular” feeling. Its 265 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque mean it accelerates reasonably well while the conventional eight-speed automatic transmission puts up no fuss and can keep the revs low for better fuel efficiency. The non-Max hybrid model trades in any semblance of excitement for outright efficiency, scoring up to 34 mpg combined while being the least pleasant version to drive. 175 lb-ft of torque doesn't sound like a lot on paper, and out on the road it, er, still isn’t. Not only is the Hybrid slow, but the CVT means it’s droney. On the brighter side, it is nice to be able to navigate parking lots on electricity alone. 

The Grand Highlander’s flagship powertrain is, of course, the 362-hp Hybrid Max. Boasting more than double the torque of that more pedestrian Hybrid—a whopping 400 lb-ft, to be exact—it combines turbocharging with electrification to make the top trim GH a bit of an incognito speed demon on highway on-ramps. Toyota claims a respectable zero-to-60-mph time of 6.3 seconds and, having been behind the wheel, I believe it. It even sounds quite nice getting up to speed with acceleration coming with a low and gravelly noise. Toyota later confirmed that some artificial noise is indeed being piped in through speakers, but it could’ve fooled me. The company may indeed be sunsetting its middle-class-shmancy 3.5-liter V6 especially when it comes to family vehicles like this, but that engine’s go-faster spirit lives on in the Hybrid Max. 

Toyota offers the Grand Highlander in three trims: XLE, Limited, and Platinum. In base XLE gas form, prices start at $44,405 while the top Platinum Hybrid Max model begins at $59,460. Standard on the XLE are 18-inch wheels, power and heated front seats, the big 12.3-inch touchscreen, blind spot monitoring, and a power liftgate. Limited adds 20-inch wheels, LED daytime running lights, fog lamps, leather seats, ventilation for the front seats, heated second-row seats, a heated steering wheel, ambient interior lighting, rain-sensing wipers, a hands-free power liftgate, and an 11-speaker JBL audio system. That upgraded sound system, by the way, is better than the base system, I guess, but still quite tinny. Opting for the top Platinum trim gets you different 20-inch wheels, ventilated seats in the second row, a pano roof, goddamn paddle shifters and a terrain-select dial (provided you go for the AWD gas or Hybrid Max), a head-up display, digital rearview mirror, and traffic jam assist.

There are a lot of three-row unibody family SUVs out there such as the Honda Pilot, Nissan Pathfinder, Volkswagen Atlas, and, of course, this car’s own Little Highlander brother, but the two vehicles that compete most directly in spirit with the Grand Highlander are arguably the Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride. Like those two, that third row doesn’t feel like a complete afterthought and, like those two, the finishes and design are just a teeny bit more upscale than what most people expect out of their respective brands. 

When it comes to that last bit, I think the Hyundai and Kia still have the Toyota beat on design and budget-Range Rover energy but the ‘Yota closes the gap with its more efficient, powerful, and interesting Hybrid Max powertrain. While the Toyota offers four-cylinders across the board in varying states of electrification, the Korean twins are staunchly 3.8-liter V6-only.

Buyers would also be wise to cross-shop the Grand Highlander with the few remaining minivans out there—the Toyota Sienna ($38,220), Honda Odyssey ($38,835), and Kia Carnival ($34,465)—which all fill a similar brief at a lower price with just a bit less ground clearance. Though it's not like me pointing that out is going to stem the flow of people choosing SUVs over vans on looks alone.

Those modern, efficient powertrains and that Toyota reliability don’t come cheap. But if you can swing the payments, the 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander is a great family hauler. Perhaps one of the greatest family haulers in its price range. It looks nice, it drives well, and its sheer space will gobble up all of the kids and gear one will reasonably throw at it, while the Hybrid Max’s sheer pace will deliver decent everyday thrills once those kids have been dropped off.

Provided Toyota can get enough of them on dealer lots, the company has a winner on its hands. All that’s left to do is give it its own cheesy “Selluride”-esque internal nickname. My nominee is Grand ROI-lander.

Got a tip or question for the author about the Grand Highlander? You can reach him here: chris.tsui@thedrive.com