Toyota has revealed a new flagship crossover in the US, with an available 270kW hybrid powertrain.
The 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander slots in above the Highlander, sold here as the Kluger, and will be built alongside it at the company’s Princeton, Indiana factory.
Toyota has detailed specifications for the three-row crossover, but hasn’t confirmed an on-sale date in the US.
“Toyota is always considering exciting new models as they become available for our market, but we have no announcements to make today,” said a spokesperson for Toyota Australia.
CarExpert understands it’s under study for Australia, but no decision has been made.
Instead of simply looking like a stretched version of the Kluger, with which its shares its TNGA-K platform, the Grand Highlander has unique styling penned by the company’s California design studio.
There’s a “trapezoidal, hammerhead” front grille that juts out up front, a boxier side profile, and sharper creasing and details towards the rear. Wheels range from 18 to 20 inches.
There’s a choice of three four-cylinder powertrains: a 2.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine, a 2.5-litre hybrid, and a flagship hybrid dubbed the Hybrid Max with 270kW of power and 542Nm of torque.
The flagship powertrain boasts a claimed 0-60mph (0-96km/h) time of 6.3 seconds and 2268kg of towing capacity.
The Hybrid Max is available only with all-wheel drive, while the other two offer a choice of front- or all-wheel drive. Hybrid Max models also get unique bumper treatments.
Inside, there’s also a more squared-off look to the dashboard, though there’s still a shelf on the passenger side like in the Kluger.
A 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen juts out from the dash in all models, and in all but the base grade it sits next to a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster; base models make do with a 7.0-inch instrument cluster screen.
The infotainment system supports over-the-air updates and features a voice assistant (prompted with “Hey Toyota”), cloud-based navigation and wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
Depending on the variant, there’s either leatherette, leather, or Ultrasuede and leather upholstery. Light grey, black, and Portobello colours are available, the latter reserved for the flagship Platinum.
Toyota says the Grand Highlander has an “adult-sized” third row, plus a total of 2775L of luggage space with all seats folded down. Third-row accoutrements include smartphone/tablet storage space, individual USB ports, and two cup and bottle holders.
All up, there are 12 cupholders across the cabin and seven USB-C outlets.
In the US market, it will be offered in XLE, Limited and Platinum grades.
Depending on the variant, features include a wireless phone charger, heated and ventilated first- and second-row seats, a power tailgate, a head-up display, 11-speaker JBL sound system, panoramic sunroof, and surround-view camera.
Hybrid models also get a 1500W power outlet instead of a 100W one.
The Grand Highlander has Toyota’s latest (3.0) generation of Toyota Safety Sense, which comprises autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keep assist, Lane Tracing Assist (lane centring), rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, and a new feature called Proactive Driving Assist.
Toyota says this provides “gentle braking” into curves or gentle braking and/or steering to help you maintain distance between another vehicle, pedestrian or cyclist.
The existing active safety features have also been enhanced for greater capability. For example, Lane Tracing Assist can bring the vehicle to a stop if the driver doesn’t respond to alerts, helpful in the case of a medical emergency.
The traffic sign recognition system can also detect additional signs like pedestrian crossing signs and the adaptive cruise control gains another distance setting, among other enhancements.
Other available safety equipment includes front cross-traffic alert and traffic jam assist.
The Grand Highlander will rival the likes of the Hyundai Palisade and Jeep Grand Cherokee L, and is expected to be joined by a Lexus counterpart this year called the TX.
MORE: Everything Toyota Kluger
