2025 Toyota Grand Highlander

Toyota aims for a Goldilocks solution with the 2025 Grand Highlander — more space than a Highlander but less bulk and at a lower price than the full-size Sequoia.

The notion works. The Grand Highlander boasts roughly the same virtues as the Highlander, including an easy-driving nature, strong resale values, and a family friendly cabin filled with cupholders and storage nooks. However, it provides more passenger and cargo space without a larger footprint many buyers don’t want. The Highlander has long been one of the better choices in the midsize SUV class, so it’s no surprise that it provides a successful foundation for a slightly larger model.

The Grand Highlander is more different under the skin than it might seem — it sits on an entirely different platform — but the Highlander and Grand Highlander share a powertrain and styling.

Toyota also offers a Grand Highlander Hybrid, which we review separately.

We’ve spent hundreds of hours driving and researching the current collection of midsize SUVs, including the Grand Highlander.

Toyota introduces a new trim level, LE, for 2025. It has a few creature comforts, like heated side mirrors and a power liftgate. But it foregoes the standard second-row Captain’s chairs of the XLE model for a bench seat to get to a lower asking price. Dealers won’t have it on the lot until midyear, Toyota says.

The company will also offer a Nightshade Edition for 2025. That’s Toyota’s term for a dressy model with a blacked-out grille and exterior trim. It comes only in Midnight Black Metallic, Windchill Pearl, and Cement.

The XLE was the best-selling Grand Highlander in 2024, but a new LE base model could be worth a look for many buyers.

Stretched editions like the Grand Highlander are more common in the large SUV class. The Jeep Grand Cherokee L is the only other midsize SUV on offer in both regular and longer-wheelbase versions. It starts in the low-$40,000 range.

Otherwise, you’re likely to cross-shop the Grand Highlander against 3-row midsize SUVs like the Honda Pilot, Kia Telluride, Hyundai Palisade, and Chevrolet Traverse. You might also want to compare it to the standard Highlander. If you don’t often need the added space, why pay for it?

The rage among automakers these days is to market your SUV as an off-road toy as if these vehicles will spend most of their time towing boats through the mountains to remote fishing cabins. Outside the world of TV commercials, we know most of them pull commuting and grocery-getting duty. That makes Toyota’s approach to the Grand Highlander almost refreshing.

It has a perfectly nice powertrain for everyday use. A 265-horsepower engine sends power through an 8-speed automatic transmission to the front wheels or, for $1,600 more, to all four through an all-wheel drive (AWD) system. It’s more than enough power for most applications, but nothing so powerful it demands much attention. Light steering inputs and confident braking make for a pleasant driving experience.

The optional all-wheel drive is plenty sure-footed in cold weather, and Toyota doesn’t even try to pretend it’s made for rock crawling.

We’ve been particularly impressed with the quiet of the cabin. It’s not quite Lexus levels of sound dampening. But road noise is minimal with either available set of wheels (18 inches or 20 inches).

You buy a Grand Highlander for its cargo and third-row space, so let’s start there.

Behind the third row, you’ll find 20.6 cubic feet of cargo space — more than the 18.6 in a Honda Pilot, but less than the 22.9 in a Chevrolet Traverse. Fold that row, and you’ll get a full 97.5 cubes. That beats the Kia Telluride, the Ford Explorer, and most of this class.

For reference, the less Grand Highlander has 16 and 84.3 in those two measurements.

Third-row passengers get 33.5 inches of legroom — generous enough that a 6-foot-4-inch editor told us he was comfortable back there. That figure beats even the Traverse. The Highlander offers just 28 inches. Shoulder room in the back is 57.5 inches — nearly best-in-class, though the Honda Pilot offers 59.5.

Second-row passengers might be in captain’s chairs or a bench seat depending on which trim level you buy. Maximum legroom here is 39.5 inches — an inch more than the regular Highlander but lower than what the Telluride and Pilot give you.

Drivers of most sizes should be able to find an accommodating driving position. Legroom is just average for the class at 41.7 inches.

The driver faces a 12.3-inch digital instrument screen, and there’s a 12.3-inch touchscreen in the center that handles infotainment functions. Some rivals now place these two screens together to look like one large, curved screen surface. That’s a high-tech look, but we increasingly prefer Toyota’s approach because it means the steering wheel rarely blocks your view of anything important.

We appreciate a special third drinks holder sized to accommodate a large water bottle up front. Storage nooks are plentiful, as are USB-C ports (seven in all, including a set for third-row passengers). Upholstery choices include simulated leather, simulated suede, and real leather.

The name makes it sound like Toyota built the Grand Highlander by stretching the existing Highlander. They didn’t — it sits on an entirely different platform. The wheelbase (distance between the front and rear axles) is four inches longer, while the Grand version has nine more inches of overall length. Ground clearance is the same.

With that in mind, we think they did an impressive job making the two look similar. The Grand Highlander has slightly bulkier and boxier lines, but not the over-the-top angularity of some rivals. A larger grille balances the added bulk of the longer rear roofline nicely, creating a handsome SUV. We think it will age well even when design trends swing back toward swoopy, which they inevitably will.

Smartly, designers used some of the added length to provide wider rear doors to ease entry and exit.

Infotainment system
Every Grand Highlander trim level gets the same 12.3-inch touchcreen infotainment system. We found it fairly intuitive to operate manually or with voice commands by saying “Hey, Toyota” to get the system’s attention. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard.

Smart Key
This lets you use your smartphone as a key. Conveniently, you can share it with another smartphone remotely. Sadly, it requires a subscription after a trial period.

Facial recognition
You can teach your Grand Highlander to recognize different drivers and automatically configure some settings to each one’s preferences.

360-degree camera system
Provided only on the Platinum trim, this feature gives the driver a bird’s-eye view of the vehicle’s surroundings. We found it particularly useful in negotiating tight parking garages.

Digital rearview mirror
Found only on the Platinum model, this shows you a clear view of what’s behind the car even if the rear window is blocked with a dorm room’s worth of stuff.

Traffic Jam Assist
Also part of the Platinum trim, this feature can take care of the steering, throttle, and brakes at speeds up to 25 mph, under certain conditions. It’s a fatigue saver in traffic.

Gas-powered Grand Highlander buyers don’t get a choice of engines, but they don’t need one. The 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine under the hood provides a perfectly adequate 265 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque. Many rivals, from the Honda Pilot to the Kia Telluride to the Jeep Grand Cherokee L, provide more.

Do you need more? That depends on how you’ll use the car. We’ve never felt the Grand Highlander underpowered, and its 5,000-pound towing capacity is typical for this class.

If you’re in love with the Grand Highlander’s versatility and Toyota’s resale values but questioning the power, we’d note that the Grand Highlander Hybrid is available with a 362-hp setup.

All-wheel drive is optional, but standard in the Platinum trim. An 8-speed automatic transmission comes with either setup and is buttery smooth.

The EPA rates front-wheel drive (FWD) Grand Highlanders for 24 mpg in combined city/highway driving, and all-wheel-drive models for 23 mpg.

3-Year/36,000-Mile Warranty

Toyota’s new-vehicle warranty conforms to the class norms of three years or 36,000 miles, whichever happens first, with powertrains covered for five years or 60,000 miles. Hybrid batteries have warranties of 10 years or 150,000 miles, whereas the typical arrangement is eight years or 100,000 miles. Toyota also includes free scheduled maintenance over the first two years or 25,000 miles. We caution buyers, however, not to overweight free maintenance plans. There just isn’t much scheduled maintenance in the first two years or 25,000 miles of new car ownership, so it’s not much of a savings.

Safety

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has yet to rate the Grand Highlander, while the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has given it mixed scores in what tests it has performed. However, Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 is standard across the board. It bundles advanced safety tech like lane-keeping assist, automatic emergency braking, and adaptive cruise control.