The Toyota Grand Highlander is the brand’s largest crossover SUV, with three seating rows to fit up to eight passengers. It offers two hybrid models: one focused on fuel economy and the other on power. It competes with vehicles such as the Hyundai Palisade, Kia Telluride, Subaru Ascent, and Honda Pilot, among others.
2026 Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid Pricing, Specs, and Release Date
- What’s New for the 2026 Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid
- Design
- Powertrain
- Interior
- Technology
- Safety
- Pricing and Release Date
- Further Research
What’s New for the 2026 Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid
The 2026 Toyota Grand Highlander carries over unchanged after it debuted for the 2024 model year. This larger crossover builds on the Highlander's strengths as a family vehicle, with a larger footprint that provides greater interior space for all family members and their cargo. It will soon take the Highlander’s place in the market as the Highlander will become an electric crossover starting with the 2027 model year.
Design
The Grand Highlander, including the Hybrid, is 6.5 inches longer, 2 inches taller, and 2.3 inches wider than the Highlander, which also has three seating rows. It’s large but has a somewhat soft look, with the traditional two-box crossover design. Up front, it sports a large grille flanked by dark pockets that house the available fog lights. The nose sits upright, and slim LED headlights flank another short grille section with the Toyota logo in its middle. Along the sides, there's enough curvature to avoid a slab-sided look, and the rear end gets pronged taillights and dual exhaust outlets. It all sits on 18- or 20-inch alloy wheels.
The Nightshade Edition is simply an appearance package with black exterior accents, black leather upholstery, matte gray metallic door panels, and black 20-inch wheels.
Powertrain
The Grand Highlander comes in two hybrid flavors: the standard Hybrid and the more powerful Hybrid Max. The base Hybrid uses a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine and a pair of electric motors to produce 245 horsepower, available with front-wheel drive (FWD) or all-wheel drive (AWD). It uses a continuously variable automatic transmission.
The Hybrid Max version uses a turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder, a six-speed automatic transmission, and front and rear motors. It produces 362 hp and 400 pound-feet of torque and is always paired with AWD.
Fuel economy for the standard Hybrid is excellent, with EPA ratings of 37 mpg city, 34 highway, and 36 combined with FWD. AWD drops that to 36/32/34 mpg. The Hybrid Max is rated at 26/27/27 mpg. The Hybrid can tow up to 3,500 pounds, and the Hybrid Max can tow up to 5,000 pounds.
Interior
The three-row Grand Highlander Hybrid comes standard with seating for eight, cloth upholstery, an eight-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, and three-zone automatic climate control. Upper trim levels get synthetic or genuine leather upholstery, heated and ventilated front seats, driver’s seat memory, and a power front passenger seat. The second row is available with heating and ventilation, and buyers can choose second-row captain’s chairs for seven-passenger seating. With all seats up, the Grand Highlander Hybrid offers 20.6 cubic feet of cargo space, which grows to 57.9 cubic feet with the third row folded, and a cavernous 97.5 cubic feet with both rear rows folded flat.
Technology
Analog gauges are standard on the Grand Highlander, along with a 7-inch digital information center. A 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster comes standard on higher-line models. All versions feature a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Most models also get a wireless smartphone charger. The standard audio system has six speakers, while an 11-speaker JBL audio system is standard on upper trims. A rear camera mirror is available, as are a digital key with a Remote Connect subscription and a 10-inch head-up display.
