According to our tests, the 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid Max’s acceleration times are excellent. It does better than other three-row SUVs regarding how well it uses gas. The Grand Highlander’s top two trim levels can only get the Hybrid Max system. We liked many things about it when we first drove and tested the 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander. Now that we’ve had a chance to compare it to other three-row SUVs, we’re incredibly impressed with how well its new 362-horsepower Hybrid Max powertrain works. This system, which has a 2.4-liter inline-four turbocharged gasoline engine, two electric motors, and a six-speed automatic gearbox, is high-speed and uses little gas. In our test of three-row SUVs, the Grand Highlander was by far the fastest, getting to 60 mph in just 5.6 seconds. Even though it weighs 4936 pounds more than anything else on the market, this is still the case. There are a few faster three-row SUVs, but they are few and far between. Examples are SUVs with pricey luxury names like the BMW X5 and Audi Q7, as well as the V-8-powered SRT versions of the Dodge Durango. On the other hand, the Grand Highlander lives up to the brand’s reputation for good hybrids on gas. Even though it doesn’t get as many miles per gallon as a Prius, the Hybrid Max model got an average of 25 mpg during our 650-mile test loop, making it the most fuel-efficient SUV we looked at. This is better than the combined 22 mpg figure from the EPA. The EPA said the Grand Highlander would get 26 mpg on the highway at 75 mph, but we only got 24 mpg in our test. Even though the Hybrid Max is much more expensive than the Grand Highlander’s lower powertrains for 2024, which include a nonhybrid 2.4-liter inline-four with a turbocharger and a less robust but more efficient hybrid with a 2.5-liter gas engine that doesn’t have a turbocharger, we think it’s worth it. The Hybrid Max configuration is only offered in the Limited and Platinum trim levels, starting at more than $55,000.
