I’m a big fan of the Toyota Highlander, so when I got to review the 2025 Toyota Grand Highlander, I was wondering if Toyota needed to go Grand. This isn’t just a bigger Highlander, but Toyota did make it grander than the standard Highlander.

Starting with the outside, I was preferring the more aggressive front end of the Grand Highlander, compared to the bubblier standard Highlander. I was a fan of the Storm Cloud color option which has a blue green hue to the grayish color. If you want more of what I call the “Millennial Grey” color, you’ll want to opt for the Cement color. For an SUV of this size, I was surprised to find that the largest wheel offering was 20”. I’m glad the size wasn’t larger, as it allowed for a taller sidewall to cushion the ride from bad roads.

Getting in, the Portobello Leather and Ultrasuede interior was simply beautiful. The brown color was a nice change of the typical boring black interior colors. Don’t worry, you can still get it in black and in light gray if you’re not as adventurous. If you go with the Hybrid MAX offerings, you’ll have a classy looking gold surrounding trim on the doors, dash and center console. You’ll be happy with the wireless Apple CarPlay showing through the 12.3-inch infotainment screen, and your music singing through the 11 JBL speaker system.

Under the hood, the 2.4L 4-cylinder turbocharged hybrid max is cranking out 362 horsepower and 400 lb.-ft. of torque. The power gets delivered to a the full-time electronic AWD system. I was impressed with the sound and performance that the engine provided. If you’re not wanting that much power, Toyota offers other great engine options like the entry 2.4L turbo only, or the mid-level 2.5L hybrid option.

Overall, the 2025 Toyota Grand Highlander definitely earned its grandeur name over the standard Highlander. Toyota simply took what was excellent from the Highlander and somehow made it even better.