2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Review | It’s HERE (& It’s Amazing!)
This is a car tour I’ve been waiting months to get my hands on! The 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander is one of the most anticipated vehicles on the market, so as a mom of three I really wanted to give it a good test drive before writing this review.
If you're new—welcome! My name is Kelly and I’m a car enthusiast, mom, and a certified child passenger safety tech. Today, I'm really excited to give you a complete walkthrough of the 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander and answer the question of if it’s a good option for families out there.
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2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Highlights
Here are some of the top family-friendly features I love in the 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander:
It’s bigger than the Highlander, but still gets a combined 27 mph
Easy-to-use infotainment system with climate controls pulled out
Second row ceiling vents AND sun shades — Huge win for families!
Second row seats on tracks for more spacing flexibility
Three total lower anchors available in second and third row
Excellent trunk space for a stroller + a grocery haul
2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Updates + Fuel Efficiency
A couple of things to note about the Grand Highlander. Its name indicates it's bigger than the current Highlander and I have heard rumors that Toyota hopes to have this Grand Highlander replace the current Highlander. If I'm honest, I think this is a really good idea by Toyota because the current Highlander is so small and compact, making many problem areas that don't function well for a family.
As for fuel efficiency, I have been loving it. The Grand Highlander I’ve been driving is specifically the hybrid max version and my fuel economy has been incredible. I'm averaging about 27 mpg without even trying.
When it comes down to the drive itself, it’s one of my favorites on the market. I'm not the biggest performance girl out there, but this vehicle drives great- it's very powerful. I feel like I have no problem merging or accelerating on the highway, but it's also still nice to zip around town when you have hybrid kind of technology. In this model specifically, you can almost operate on that one pedal driving. When you take your foot off the accelerator with the regenerative braking, it almost starts to slow down for you so you don't have to brake quite as often.
If you are even considering a test drive, I highly recommend it.
2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Exterior
My overall thoughts on the Grand Highlander’s exterior is that it looks pretty good. Do I think this is the most innovative exterior on the market right now? No. Do I think the Palisade and Mazda look a bit more futuristic? Absolutely.So let's just get that out of the way, I don't think this is the most stylish SUV you can buy, but there are a lot of things I do like about it on the interior.
Switching gears to look at the side profile, she’s significantly bigger than the Highlander, but let's kind of talk about where she lines up through the other cars in her class. The largest being the Traverse, new Acadia, and Honda Pilot, while the smallest is the Kia Sorento, the current Highlander is in the middle on the slightly bigger end. It's not quite as big as the Traverse and doesn't have the legroom as the Palisade or the Telluride.
However, she has got a lot of trunk space so I think when you're trying to figure out what midsize SUV works for you, it's really important to make sure you think about what your specific needs are. If you're after a lot of trunk space, she's a good option. If you're after the most third row legroom, she's not your option.
2024 Toyota Grand Highlander First Row Details
Getting into the first row, I’m feeling pretty comfortable. The seats are nice and comfy and my headroom is great in this car. Leg room in the passenger side is just okay. Taking a look at our door panel, they keep it basic. We're not met with like 17 different materials and contrast stitching, just a standard door. Side cubby does not fit my Stanley, but it does fit fine in the middle console. Personally, I’ve always been a fan of a heated steering wheel and having a power trunk button to open and close up front is awesome.
Last thing to note, I found super pretty in the vehicle is the rose gold accents. Maybe it’s just the millennial in me, but I really like it.
Infotainment System
Starting off strong, there is a nice large display and everything that’s standard in modern infotainment systems (Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, etc…). It's your standard Toyota screen you know, I like it and I think it's user friendly, but nothing is overly special or overly complicated. They've done a good job of like pulling climate control out and giving us a good screen to button ratio- this is always important to me. I feel like the rear climate is very easy to control from up here, which now that I have older kids who are complaining all the time I like to change it quickly. A lot of strategically placed USBS as well.
2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Second Row Details
The Grand Highlander comes in both a bench seat and captain’s chairs. The bench seat is a unicorn, they're hard to find of course that's not the one they sent me to review. I don't know if you can fit three across, I would imagine you could. If you get the bench seat option you're not going to have an additional set of lower anchors in the middle seat, but you will have a tether anchor when you have the captain’s chairs options.
Amenities in the second row include:
Built-in sun shades
Leather backed pockets
Ceiling vents
Panoramic sunroof
USB-C ports
Center console
Here's how this car seat situation shakes out. With captain's chairs, you have lower anchors and tether anchors in both seats. If you choose the bench seat (which is going to be hard to find), it does not have a lower anchor in the middle seat, but there is a tether anchor. This provides a good amount of flexibility in terms of car seat set up, and while I couldn’t test it out, I can assume it fits three car seats across.
Another thing to talk about with the Grand Highlander in terms of a car seat setup is that these second row seats are on tracks and the tracks make a significant difference. If the seat has moved all the way forward or all the way back it's really going to affect how this vehicle functions for the family.
This car does not have quite as much leg room, about three inches less, as something like the Hyundai Palisade or Kia Telluride which have the Best in Class legroom. This is important for people who have older passengers or car seats because it plays a role in that clearance. I want to make it clear I'm comfortable and have enough leg room, but ideally would like a bit more.
2024 Toyota Grand Highlander LATCH Diagram:
2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Third Row Details
In the third row, I had my four-year-old son in a Graco Slim Fit 3LX and he was able to still fit his legs and was comfortable. Good amenities with the ceiling vents and USB-C’s in the back, along with cup holders are both sides (which are apparently Best in Class).
In the third row behind the passenger seat, you do have a set of lower anchors, which is great. You also have a tether anchors in the middle seat, but nothing on the other outboard seat.
While this sounds great, if you have forward-facing car seat you want to install in the third row, there is only one spot where you could put it without blocking visibility. It’s not an absolute deal breaker, but something to note.
2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Trunk Details
One of the stars of the show in this vehicle is the trunk space. Really really good trunk space in this car- I used a Vista stroller and had room to spare. It's very wide and very deep. Underneath, we don't have much extra storage, but the seats are very easy to fold completely flat. Overall, I am very impressed with the cargo space upgrades in this compared to your typical Highlander.
2024 Toyota Grand Highlander - My Final Thoughts
I think the 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander is a HUGE improvement from the regular Highlander model. The space is much better for families and I really loved the driving experience. Although the leg clearance is not the best and I wasn’t able to test out the bench seat, I would really advise you taking a test drive to see if this vehicle is a good fit for your family.
To see a complete walkthrough of the 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander, click here.
What do you think of the larger Highlander? Please let me know in the comments! And to keep up with all things around the latest vehicles on the market, check out out my latest tours:
