Ideal Tiguan Allspace rival? New Toyota Grand Highlander debuts

Having expanded the wheel tracks of its ever popular Highlander from the United States to Europe three years ago, Toyota has unveiled an even more extended, in the wheelbase and seats departments, derivative called the Grand Highlander.

A model that straddles the gap between the normal Highlander, known as the Kluger in Australia, and the 4Runner, the newcomer is expected to take direct aim at the Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace, which does without the latter suffix in the States as a result of the regular five-seat model not being sold there.

A lot has changed

As evident by its name, the Grand Highlander, while still based on the same TNGA-K platform as its sibling, has had its wheelbase and length increased in order to accommodate to a third row.

Comparatively, the Grand Highlander is 165 mm longer overall longer, 58 mm wider and 51 mm taller with the mentioned wheelbase increasing by 102 mm.

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Externally, Toyota restyled the Grand Highlander with a frontal appearance similar to the 4Runner instead of the normal Highlander, while incorporating a rear facia seemingly derived from the RAV4.

At the same time, most of the Highlander’s curvy lines down the side and on the front wings have been squared off, a more pronounced spoiler fitted to the bootlid and unique 20-inch alloy wheels made standard on the top-spec Platinum model.

More premium inside

Inside, Toyota has been similarly thorough in the “redesigning” of the Grand Highlander’s interior in order for it to be more upmarket than the standard Highlander’s cab.

Aspects include a revised centre console with a model specific gear lever, a separate second and third row control module for the climate control, standard fitting of a 12.3-inch infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, no less than 10 USB ports, up to 13 cupholders and upgraded materials.

Spec

On the model front, the Grand Highlander sports a choice of three trim levels; XLE, Limited and the mentioned Platinum that stands as the only version, as per its name, to feature platinum accents inside.

Notable feature on the XLE are 18-inch alloy wheels, heated and electric front seats, standard seven or six seats with a captain style arrangement for the second row, a seven-inch instrument cluster display, cruise control, wireless smartphone charger and an electric tailgate.

Standard safety and driver assistance tech comprise Blind Spot Monitoring, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, a surround-view rear monitor, Autonomous Emergency Braking, Lane Keep Assist, Lane Tracing and Driver Attention Alert.

Moving one up, the Limited receives 20-inch alloys, full-LED headlights, a heated second row, ambient lighting, a heated steering wheel, front seat ventilation, folding electric mirrors, rear parking sensors, an eleven-speaker JBL sound system, hands-free opening/closing tailgate and a 1 500-watt outlet in the boot.

Besides the items already mentioned, the Platinum additionally scores ventilation for the second row, a Head-Up Display, Front Cross Traffic Alert, a panoramic sunroof, Adaptive Cruise Control, Traffic Jam Assist plus a digital rear-view mirror.

In terms of boot space, Toyota didn’t disclose capacity with all seven seats up, though it did reveal luggage space of 595-litres with the third row down and 2 775-litres with the second row lowered.

Turbo four or hybrid

Up front, a choice of three engines can be specified, but, as with the normal Highlander, no longer with six-cylinder as the free-breathing 3.5-litre mill departs in favour of the 2.4-litre turbo Lexus uses in the NX and RX and Toyota itself in the South Africa-bound new Crown.

The new unit, slated for additional use in the all-new Tacoma, is, however, available in two distinct versions; the conventional turbo rated at 200kW/420Nm and the new Hybrid Max that delivers 270kW/542Nm.

Rounding the range off, the “conventional” 2.5-litre hybrid offers-up 181 kW fed to the front or all four wheels via a CVT.

An eight-speed automatic is the sole option for the 2.4 and Hybrid Max, the latter sporting the all-paw gripping system as standard.

Regardless of engine, all models feature a three drive mode selector as standard; Eco, Normal and Sport, with all-wheel-drive versions of the 2.4 and Hybrid Max also receiving the Multi-Terrain Select system with three off-road settings; Mud & Sand, Snow and Rock & Dirt.

Should South Africa get it?

Set to be produced alongside the five-seat Highlander at Toyota’s Princeton Plant in Indiana from later this year, the Grand Highlander, for now, won’t be offered with right-hand-drive in the UK and in Australia.

The latter market, where the five-seat Kluger is one of Toyota’s most important models, has, reportedly, already expressed interest in offering the Grand Highlander as the Grand Kluger at some stage despite the go-ahead being non-existent at present.

In addition, Toyota South Africa Motors, on a number of occasions since 2019, has indicated the Highlander doesn’t form part of its local model line-up plans as pricing would see it potentially overlapping with the locally made Fortuner and even the RAV4.

While small murmurings of new models did emerge at the recent State of the Motor Industry conference, the Grand Highlander, for now, remains a no-no for South Africa and for buyers wanting a Toyota alternative to the Tiguan Allspace.

For more information on Toyota’s current South Africa range, click here.

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