Toyota made a name for itself with reliable vehicles. The world's largest automobile manufacturer is also committed to passenger safety, although Toyota sometimes doesn't focus enough on making its passenger vehicles as safe as technically possible.
The all-new Grand Highlander is the perfect case in point. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the family-sized crossover utility vehicle could do better in the driver-side small overlap front. More specifically, the dummy's head somehow rolled off the left side of the front airbag toward the gap between said airbag and the side curtain airbag, therefore resulting in a potentially serious head injury.
As if that wasn't bad enough, the nonprofit organization determined that the passenger cell was compromised in the passenger area. It should be mentioned that the small overlap front crash test is performed at 40 miles per hour (64 kilometers per hour), and that the Grand Highlander was rated acceptable rather than the institute's top rating.
The bad news continues with the headlights. Equipped with LED projector-style lights, the Grand Highlander was deemed acceptable in terms of headlight performance due to glare from the low beams. Last but certainly not least, the IIHS identified two issues with the LATCH system.
In addition to lower anchors located too deep in the seat, other hardware could be confused for an anchor, thus compromising the child seat's performance in the event of a crash. Despite all its glaring wrongs, the Grand Highlander has been awarded the Top Safety Pick accolade for its overall performance.
Photo: IIHS
Slotted between the Highlander and body-on-frame Sequoia, the Grand Highlander comes in XLE, Limited, and Platinum flavors. Twinned with the new-for-2024 Lexus TX, the 'Yota currently starts at $43,070 excluding the destination freight charge. Step up to the better-equipped Limited and Platinum, and you're looking at suggested retail prices starting at $47,860 and $53,545 before options and taxes.
2.4-liter turbo I4 muscle is standard, followed by a hybrid setup built around a naturally-aspirated 2.5er. The fanciest powertrain available is called Hybrid MAX, a powertrain that grants the aforementioned 2.4-liter turbo I4 some hybrid assistance for a peak output of 362 horsepower in hybrid mode. The lesser hybrid makes 243 ponies at full chatter, and it's connected to an eCVT as opposed to an automatic.
As for the 2.4-liter turbo I4 without hybrid assistance, that would be 265 horsepower and eight-speed automatic. Only the XLE and Platinum can be had with front-wheel drive, whereas everything from the Platinum up is all-wheel drive. Speaking of which, the Hybrid XLE carries a sticker price of $44,670. Stepping up to the nicely equipped Hybrid MAX Limited trim level means $54,040 at the very least.
The funny thing is, you don't need the Hybrid Max because the most efficient specifications of the bunch are the Hybrid XLE and Hybrid Limited. As per Toyota's configurator, these versions return 37 and 36 miles per gallon (6.4 and 6.5 liters per 100 kilometers) in the city. The highway ratings are 34 and 32 miles per gallon (6.9 and 7.4 liters per 100 kilometers).
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News