Toyota will expand its family vehicle lineup early next year with a new three-row SUV. It’s called the Grand Highlander, and Toyota will reveal it on February 8, 2023, ahead of the Chicago Auto Show.
Toyota says the new Grand Highlander will be “sophisticated, spacious and powerful”, calling it “the ultimate road trip vehicle”. The automaker hasn’t shared much about the new model, which first appeared on our radar in early 2021 after Toyota filed to trademark the Grand Highlander name in the US and Canada.
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Months after that filing, a report revealed that Toyota would launch the Grand Highlander in early 2023, which turned out to be true. The report says the SUV will be placed between the current Highlander, which is already offered with three rows, and the larger body-on-frame Sequoia.
The only teaser image Toyota has shared shows the rear of the stylish new SUV, and the rear has a unique design that differs from the Highlander and Sequoia. The Toyota badge is visible above the name which sits between and connects the rear light units. On the lower edge of the tailgate is a “Hybrid Max” badge, possibly indicating the SUV’s powertrain.
Toyota unveiled the Hybrid Max moniker earlier this year on the new Crown. It is a turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine paired with two electric motors. The entire system produces 340 horsepower (253 kilowatts) in the Crown, which is available with a six-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters. It’s unclear whether the Grand Highlander will get the same setup or something that falls under the same powertrain branding.
The larger Grand Highlander in Toyota’s lineup is expected to spawn a Lexus equivalent called the TX. A report from earlier this year said that the new TX will be somewhere in between the RX L crossover and the GX and LX SUVs in the lineup and will launch in 2023 as well. However, Lexus will allegedly be dropping the lid six months after the Toyota variant, so we expect a reveal sometime in August or September for the more upscale offerings.
