2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Is An Elevated Way To Haul It All

As the name implies, the 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander is, well, grander than Highlander classic. There’s more room, crisper design and with the new Hybrid MAX powertrain, significantly more oomph. There’s seating for up to 8, and for the first time, adults are okay to ride in the wayback. All that and the price premium is easy to swallow. It's strong competition to Honda Pilot, Hyundai Palisade, Chevy Traverse, Buick Enclave, Nissan Pathfinder and Volkswagen Atlas. Tom Voelk travels to the Big Island of Hawaii to check out all three powertrains- the turbocharged 4-cylinder, a standard HEV hybrid and the new powerful Hybrid MAX.

Tom attended a manufacturer’s event to shoot this video. As always, opinions remain his own.

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About Tom: Tom Voelk is an award-winning automotive contributor to The New York Times. His podcast was the first to win an Emmy Award (and he's won for photography, editing, producing and reporting).

00:00 Intro
00:53 Pricing
1:25 Size and Design
2:27 Powertrains
3:45 Performance
5:32 Fuel Economy
6:45 Interior
8:09 Interface
9:09 2nd and 3rd Rows
10:46 Cargo
11:40 Red Light Green Light
12:41 Summary
13:42 Epilogue
14:49 Before I Go…

[salocin]

FORD SHOULD BE very WORRIED about this new model. I was looking at the EXPLORER ST but that interior is dated and a mess! Plus resale value.... I have owned 2 previous EXPLORERS. Sunroofs are overrated and I love that they keep the ventilated seat up front. Great content +++ for YouTube algorithm

[arnabbiswas]

My favorite car reviews! Great job Tom as always!

[rightlanehog]

Tom, When we are talking 'Grands', we must not forget the Mercury Grand Marquis and Pontiac Grand Prix. 🤩

[hawaiiguy]

Tom,
Loved all your references to Hawaii in this video! Way more than any other journalists' videos about the Grand Highlander 🤙

[MatthewRobbinsColumbusOhio]

Tom, I’ve been following your work for about a year and really appreciate your style. I have been looking forward to this review for a while and it helped confirm my decision to deposit for a Grand Highlander. Thanks!

[tomhoots]

It's a tough job, but SOMEONE has to do it! I agree with your "Jeepy" comment -- if I bought one of these, I would call mine "the RAV4 Jumbo." R4JMBO license plate, anyone? I think the current RAV4 styling works very well, and this rather takes that and cleans it up, nicely. And no, if I could get one of these through the garage doorway (by folding the side mirrors in), I'm very sure that I'd have to crawl out the back, because I certainly couldn't open the doors, once I got it in my garage. And without a doubt, the back end would be sticking outside by a foot or so.

It has been interesting to see all the reviews of this vehicle that have posted at the same time -- of course, your reviews are always my favorites. And you can rest assured that the fact we share our first names and how I also live in the Northwest only have a small part to do with that. 😆 But what a wealth of coverage and opinions we have with our regular group of YouTube reviewers -- and we do enjoy the rare times when you folks get together. But your reviews are the ones I always "feel at home" with -- keep up the great work, and we'll keep on coming back for more!

[ryanjetskipro]

Love your reviews Tom! Always well balanced

[Kevan]

Always trust your evaluations. Great job 🤙🏽

[clubracer]

Ah I saw the notification and saw it was live. Excited to watch this one too. Our 22 MDX feels a bit cramped at times for our family of 5. Wondering is this might be the answer.

[michaelh]

Toyota hit a home run with this one. Thanks for another great review Tom.

[jax]

Missed the chance to call it a RAV8… which is what it shall always be to me 😂

[mess]

Very compelling vehicle. Looks good.
Great video and information.
Thank you.

[dsdddsdwe]

Well done. A family member just got the new Lexus RX350. I see where Toyota/Lexus is going. Their product lines are becoming way more streamlined.
This Grand Highlander infotainment system is a toned-down version of the new Lexus system.

Engines are all the same, and connectivity is excellent all around. I would love to see the styling of the new Lexus TX.

[josiahstearns]

For quite a while the Palisade was at the top of our list (often a ping-pong game between that and the Santa Fe)
But aside from the (maximum of) 10 Grand more to be in the Grand, this is seemingly much more desirable.

I often feel a sense of worry when considering a Hyundai model with many of the engine issues on their smaller models, and other recalls that create cause for concern. Certainly heard some good feed back from Palisade owners… but I’ve also owned Toyotas in the past and so have other family members and more often then not - zero problems, zero issues. My Camry, alone, with 7 years of ownership hasn’t had one problem - even on a minor level.

To drop the extra money for a Grand Highlander seems worth it to me. Much of the reason for not going for the non-grand was that 3rd row was almost non-existent, along with the lack specific points of interest like 2 person memory, and no HUD (at one point - even after Hyundai and Kia already had it). Plus the fact that the Korean twins were killing it with design, features, interior room, and pricing. But longevity was also a nagging thought in the back of my mind.

Relieved to know that this model now exists and could very well sway us in back into Toyota’s lane. With the old infotainment software gone, features that are becoming more common like Heated/Vent seats, HUD, Memory Seats, Wireless Smartphone integration, among others; it makes it more easy to go with this model as it tacks on a long-standing history with its manufacturer of being generally reliable. (Not 100% but certainly a far better shot)

And I also love the attention to detail with physical buttons. Not super crazy but also not all buried deep in the infotainment system.and quite frankly, if it weren’t for the wife, I probably would have stayed with Toyota or Honda (as I’ve also had a good ownership experience with the Japanese counterpart)

[CNHabs]

It looks stunning in white with those silver wheels!

[mcximus]

I was about to say the GH looks like a big RAV4, but you beat me to it.

[louislopez]

I’m telling my wife this can be her next vehicle, she has a 2021 Highlander Limited now. I think Toyota could have used worse names, like Max or Super Highlander. I’m really glad they didn’t use Highlander XL too. Maybe they should have named it “The Big Highlander” like that island you were on.

[ferencvad]

Like everyone else, you forgot to show the ambient lights (evening interior lights). It would be a nice touch to see it.

[geovannivarela]

Wow they really would have cornered the market if they offered a bench in all trims and did just a smidge of nicer materials.

[guyin]

Maybe Toyota made the right choice. Neither Higherlander and Highlander Extramostbestest would have been better choices.

Looks like they came up with a great family truckster there. It should sell very well.