Toyota has confirmed that the new Grand Highlander SUV will debut at the 2023 Chicago Auto Show. Ahead of its debut, Newsweek is taking a look at what consumers can expect from the model.
Where the 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander be built?
It is expected, but not confirmed, that Toyota will build the Grand Highlander at its Princeton, Indiana assembly plant. Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Indiana, Inc. (TMMI) is already home to the Highlander SUV and the Sienna minivan. It employs over 7,200 people.
For the 2022 model year, Toyota moved manufacturing of its Sequoia SUV to San Antonio, where the Tundra is produced, theoretically creating the production space for the upcoming vehicle(s).
How will the Grand Highlander compare in size to the current Highlander?
The Grand Highlander will likely ride on an extended version of Toyota’s GA-K platform, the same as what underpins the current Highlander and Sienna. AutoPacific analysts expect that the new Grand Highlander will be larger than the Highlander.
“The Highlander has become such a popular pick for families looking for three rows, attracted by things like stellar reliability, renown quality, and an available all wheel drive footprint. What’s been the biggest gripe about the current Highlander is its cramped third row, and Toyota is finally looking to address that with this longer Grand Highlander,” Robby DeGraff, industry analyst at AutoPacific told Newsweek.
Which vehicles are the Grand Highlander’s natural competitors?
The Grand Highlander will be positioned to go directly up against the Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade.
“Competition in the segment itself has gotten ever so fierce in recent years, with many automakers striving to either match or succeed that of the two benchmark products: Kia’s Telluride and the Hyundai Palisade, both of which have been instant hits with more habitable space in their third rows among other areas of praise,” said DeGraff.
How many seats will the Grand Highlander have?
The Toyota Grand Highlander is expected to seat passengers across three rows. Traditionally, three-row vehicles come in eight- or seven-passenger configurations. A six-seat Grand Highlander is also possible.
Will the Toyota Grand Highlander be an electric vehicle?
Analysts at AutoPacific aren’t expecting the three-row SUV to be a battery-electric SUV. Instead, they’re predicting that it could debut as a gasoline-powered model with a traditional hybrid option (similar to what the Highlander and Tundra offer), but is just as likely to be hybrid-only straight out of the gate.
“I think what’s exciting about the Grand Highlander is all the potential and possible ways it can attempt to rob aways sales of other recently introduced or facelift three-row crossovers,” DeGraff said.
“Toyota’s been killing it these days with these new hybrid drivetrains seen debut under the hoods of the Crown, Sequoia, and Tundra. Big power numbers are attainable without much sacrifice for fuel economy, and the Grand Highlander is an ideal candidate for a standard hybrid setup which would certainly help position it above other vehicles in the segment.”
AutoPacific does expect Toyota to give the Grand Highlander a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) option, possibly called the Grand Highlander Prime.
Will there be a Lexus version of the Grand Highlander?
A few years ago, Lexus trademarked the “TX” moniker. Analysts at the AutoPacific predict that a similarly-sized and positioned version of the Grand Highlander, named the Lexus TX, will come to market shortly after the Grand Highlander arrives.
The post Here’s What to Expect From the 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander appeared first on Newsweek.
