- toyota recently trademarked a new name: grand highlander, as first seen on a forum post.
- this moniker seems to suggest a larger variant of the existing highlander three-row suv.
- the highlander was redesigned for 2020, so the grand highlander may arrive for the mid-cycle refresh a few years from now.
toyota is apparently envious of jeep's grand-iosity and may add a new model called the grand highlander, following in the footsteps of the grand cherokee and grand wagoneer. the company filed for a trademark on december 28, 2020, and the name indicates that it will be a bigger version of the highlander suv.
the highlander currently competes in the three-row mid-size suv segment, but its third row of seats is notably less spacious than competitors such as the kia telluride, volkswagen atlas, and chevy traverse. a grand highlander, possibly with an extended wheelbase, could help fix this shortcoming. size-wise, it would slot in between the highlander and the full-size, body-on-frame sequoia, and it would likely cost a few thousand dollars more than the highlander.
toyota has yet to confirm anything about such a model, but we think it could arrive as soon as the highlander's mid-cycle refresh, which should come for the 2023 or 2024 model year given that the current model debuted for 2020. mechanically it would likely share its 3.5-liter v-6 and hybrid drivetrains with the standard; a plug-in-hybrid grand highlander prime also seems possible.