What If Toyota Made Everything a 'Grand' Affair? Would It Make Sense Buying These?

And since 2022 was Honda’s great year in the North American market, it makes sense for Toyota to counter with everything it has, including larger models. Just remember how the Minato, Tokyo-based rival took last year by storm with an all-new HR-V, now bigger and based on the latest Civic iteration (also redubbed as the ZR-V for international markets). Then it also rocked the streets with the Civic Type R hot hatchback and the best-selling CR-V compact crossover SUV. Plus, there were also mid-sized goodies like the eleventh Accord sedan or the fourth iteration of the family-oriented Honda Pilot three-row CUV, which now also has a rugged TraiSport trim for more adventurous owners to play with.

Naturally, Toyota quickly started retaliating by reorganizing its U.S. affairs even better – although also a bit quirkier. According to the rumor mill, the smallish C-HR will abandon the region to make way for the upcoming 2023 Corolla Cross Hybrid at the base of the crossover & SUV selection on the company’s online portal. Moving on, the whispers also claim that later this year, we will check out the first images and details regarding the upcoming fourth-gen Toyota Tacoma mid-size pickup truck best-seller. And, as per the imaginative realm of digital car content creators, who base their assumptions on leaked patent data, the fresh, all-new Tacoma is going to be a mini-Tundra, of course.

The passenger cars section is also brimming with novelties because the 2023 Toyota Crown’s return to the U.S. market in hybrid crossover-sedan form is accompanied by none other than the latest Prius ‘Hybrid Reborn’ and folks will soon have access to the 2023 Prius Prime plug-in hybrid version. Now, back to crossovers and SUVs, do not think that Toyota has not set its sight on rivaling Honda – the Trailhuner series is obviously a measured response to the new TrailSport menace. But at least for now, the SUV sector is well covered, even if the 4Runner is growing even longer in the tooth than its Tacoma sibling. This is because the latest Sequoia rules with i-Force Max hybrid power from the comfort of a 208.1-inch (5,286 mm) length, and now its CUVs are almost as big, thanks to the 201.4-inch (5,116 mm) long Grand Highlander.

To me, it feels like Toyota is not making a rushed move to meet the new Honda Pilot in the mid-size three-row (seven or eight-seat) CUV sector because others have also noticed that folks would not mind buying the longer versions if it meant they could tuck inside more adults and (at least a little bit of) luggage. For example, the Grand Highlander, built on the TNGA-K platform, was noted among highlights for its total of around 98 cubic feet (2,775 liters) of space with seats folded down, the adult-sized third row, and the plentiful cargo capacity behind it – tipped to house up to seven carry-on suitcases. And if that’s not a direct jab at both the 200.2-inch (5,085 mm) Honda Pilot and 204.9-inch (5,204 mm) WL Jeep Grand Cherokee L, then I do not know what else it is.

Anyway, with a little help from a notorious pixel master, or two, we could also think about other Toyotas that could receive the ‘Grand’ treatment and still make a powerful case for themselves. Obviously, we cannot dream about stuff like a Grand Prius (although a station wagon would not be preposterous, right?) or a Grand GR Supra (a four-door sedan, maybe?) and the Grand Tundra sounds like a tough sale in the heavy-duty segment of trucks dominated by the Ford Super Duty and the rest of the HD peers from Detroit. But, for sure, a trio of CUVs and SUVs packing three rows and (at least) seven seats might bode well for the Japanese automaker’s strive to come out on top of a difficult sales year plagued by supply constraints and the pesky chip crisis.

As such, here is first Kleber Silva, the Brazil-based virtual artist better known as KDesign AG on social media, who has recently decided to have a CGI go at imagining a future seven-seater version for the Toyota Corolla Cross. The design proposal for a Grand version of the compact CUV naturally makes ample use of Grand Highlander styling cues and mixes everything with the regular Corolla Cross DNA to make it a tad more believable. Secondly, if you have a hypothetical, compact ‘Grand Corolla Cross’ and the real-world, upcoming 2024 Grand Highlander, maybe the trifecta needs to be complete with a flagship, full-size Grand SUV version, right?

Well, while musing about that, I also remembered that not long ago, the good folks over at the AutoYa info channel on YouTube once imagined the CGI looks of the unannounced Toyota Grand Sequoia long-wheelbase SUV. As such, I brought it back from the archives solely for illustrative purposes and as an extreme counterpoint to the whole ‘what if’ Grand everything line of thought. Cool, or not?

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