- 2026 Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid Nightshade with all-wheel drive (AWD) nets 34 mpg combined.
- The hybrid SUV seats seven, and the Nightshade Hybrid edition costs $55,285.
- Long-distance comfort and exceptional fuel economy for a large SUV highlight the Grand Highlander.
Legally, my kids are adults. Practically, they’re not. Recently, my adult kids slept like children on a long weekend road trip in the 2026 Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid.
“There can only be one,” applies to the “Highlander” movie series, not Toyota and its three distinct Highlander variants. The Grand Highlander is 6.5 inches longer, 2.3 inches wider, and 2.0 inches taller than the more cramped 2026 Toyota Highlander, which launched as one of the original 3-row midsize SUVs waaaaaay back in 2000. When it arrives later this year, the remade 2027 Highlander will be an electric vehicle only with a range estimated to exceed 300 miles.
For now, the Grand Highlander makes good on its Grand adjective as the best of the Highlander bunch for families. The top three reasons it excels on the road are as timeless as road trips: its comfort, spaciousness, and efficiency.
All-day Comfort
Maybe it was the steady thrum of the road or the sound-deadening of our Hybrid Nightshade ($55,285, with destination fee) but the 18- and 20-year-olds slept like toddlers on our 6-hour highway trek. The Nightshade’s heated second-row captain’s chairs warmed the daybreak, and the power front seats enabled my passenger and her pillow to escape time. With 13 cupholders, seven USB-C ports, a wireless device charger, and a storage shelf above the glovebox for phones, earbuds, sunglasses, wallet, whathaveyous, there were all the creature comforts for all the things. The three of us each had our own climate control, too, so there was no bickering. If only I had a home with the same.
The Nightshade slots below the top Platinum trim, but Toyota doesn’t pretend to the luxury segment with options such as massaging seats or a passenger touchscreen or a gold-plated bidet. Meh, who needs it?
Spaciousness
You know how kids bicker about the smallest infraction imposed by their siblings? The Grand Highlander’s roomy layout precludes such aggravations. With nearly 40 inches of second-row legroom and copious headroom, it allowed the physical adults to stretch out in the captain’s chairs and front passenger seat without complaint. Every Grand Highlander has a third row with three seats in a 60/40 split. My test mules fit beside each other in the way back, and had their own charge ports and Hydro Flask holders, but I couldn’t persuade them to stay back there for six hours. Still, you could fit six adults comfortably in the Grand Highlander for around-town shuttles.
We had three carry-ons and a small cooler that could have fit in the 20.6 cubic feet of space with the third row up. We didn’t need it so we folded the third row flat for optimum space. Whether you choose the hybrid or gas powertrain in the Grand Highlander, storage capacity is the same.
The Grand Highlander lacks power-folding seats in the second and third rows, instead using straps in the third row that might make it a reach for shorter arms. The second-row seats tilt and slide with handles in the seat tops that aren’t as easy to operate for actual children as push-button mechanisms in rivals’ 3-row SUVs.
Exceptional Hybrid Efficiency
To keep things in triplicate, the Grand Highlander comes with three powertrain options: a gas-only one, the hybrid we tested, and a Hybrid MAX that trades efficiency for power. Our Grand Highlander Hybrid AWD used a 245-horsepower 4-cylinder hybrid powertrain with three motors and a 34-mpg-combined rating, which is exceptional for a vehicle this size. That’s the same as the smaller Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid AWD and Kia Sorento Hybrid AWD.
The estimate fell short of our reality but that’s because Toyota’s hybrid system is more efficient around town than on the highway, where we logged most of our miles. According to the trip meter, we averaged 68 mph over nearly 1,000 miles, and returned 29 mpg. The EPA estimates the highway rating at 32 mpg, but its lab tests average only 48 mph. As if. Since the Grand Highlander has a big 17.2-gallon tank, we only stopped to refuel once each way.
That let the big kids sleep like they were young, and it let this dad lean into highway dad mode.
