Choosing Your Toyota SUV: Highlander or Grand Highlander?

A look at how Toyota's pair of mainstream three-row SUVs compare.

David Gluckman | 

Jul 16, 2025 | 3 min read

Toyota

For the 2024 model year, Toyota expanded its Highlander lineup by adding the longer Grand Highlander alongside the existing model. Both of these three-row crossovers offer available hybrid powertrains and all-wheel drive (AWD), share similar styling, and come with many of the same features. Here's a look at the differences between the lineups to help you find the ideal Highlander.

Toyota

Interior Space Is a Key Difference

The difference in overall length (6.5 inches) benefits the Grand Highlander's second- and third-row occupants — there's almost an inch of added legroom for row two, while back-seat passengers get 33.5 inches of legroom, an increase of 5.5 inches compared with the standard-length Highlander.

In practical terms, the Highlander's third row is likely to be reserved for small children, while adults may tolerate short trips in the Grand Highlander. Both are available with either seven or eight seats, depending on trim and options.

The Grand Highlander will also accommodate more cargo than the regular model. The Grand Highlander has 97.5 cubic-feet of space behind its first row, 57.9 behind the second, and 20.6 behind the third, while the Highlander offers totals of 84.3, 48.4, and 16 cu-ft, respectively. For reference, a midsize Yeti Tundra 45 cooler takes up about 3.7 cu-ft of space and can hold up to 54 cans.

Toyota

Grand Highlanders Offer More Powertrain Choices

The standard Highlander's base powertrain is a turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder that makes 265 horsepower and can be paired with either front-wheel drive (FWD) or AWD. Highlander Hybrid models use a 2.5-liter four-cylinder and three electric motors. That 243-hp powertrain is paired exclusively with AWD, with one of the electric motors on the rear axle kicking in when four-wheel traction is needed.

The Grand Highlander offers the regular Highlander's powertrain options and adds a second, more powerful hybrid variant. Gas-only Grand Highlanders make the same 265 horsepower, while the Grand Highlander Hybrid's system produces 245 horsepower. The third powertrain option, named Hybrid MAX, pairs the gas model's turbocharged 2.4-liter engine with electric motors for a combined 362 horsepower.

Toyota

Feature Content Is Nearly Identical

For 2025, both Highlander variants are offered in LE, XLE, Limited, and Platinum trim levels, while the short-wheelbase version is also available as the sportier up-level XSE. Pricing for the least expensive FWD LE models is about $41,815 for the Highlander and around $42,355 for the Grand Highlander.

There are aesthetic differences between the lineups, especially with the Highlander XSE's black exterior motif, but aside from their differing sizes and the Grand Highlander's additional hybrid option, these two models come similarly equipped at each trim level.

Notable differences include smartphone-as-key functionality that's offered on the Grand Highlander but not available on the Highlander, and the center touchscreen size, which is 7.0 inches on base Highlanders with a 12.3-inch display available, while all Grand Highlanders come with the larger screen.

The Grand Highlander also offers Traffic Jam Assist, and it comes with the Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 suite of driver assists, while the Highlander uses version 2.5+ of that system. The latter also lacks Proactive Driving Assist, a feature that provides gentle braking or steering in certain situations. And in case you're keeping score, the Highlander comes standard with 14 cupholders — the Grand Highlander has just 13.

David Gluckman

David has years of experience as a writer and editor for print and digital automotive publications, including Car and Driver and Road & Track. He can parallel-park a school bus, has a spreadsheet listing every vehicle he's ever tested, and once drove a Lincoln Town Car 63 mph in reverse. When not searching for the perfect used car, he can be found sampling the latest gimmicky foodstuffs that America has to offer.