6 PROBLEMS With Toyota Grand Highlander You MUST Know!

The Toyota Grand Highlander is hiding six problems you must know, and some will surprise loyal Toyota fans. If you're about to spend $50,000 on a family SUV, you can't afford to discover them later. Most buyers believe a Toyota badge means a flawless choice, but this big three-row is proving otherwise. 6. Weak Base Engines Toyota is offering three powertrains here, and two of them are going to leave you wanting more. The gas model is running a turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder, good for 265 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque. On paper, that sounds respectable. In testing, though, it's needing around eight seconds to reach 60 miles per hour. That's slower than most V6-powered three-row rivals. Around town, the engine feels pleasant enough. But at highway speeds, or with every seat filled, it's starting to run out of breath. The Grand Highlander also feels heavy during hard launches and passing maneuvers. On top of that, the auto stop-start system isn't seamless. At every red light, you're going to feel the engine shudder back to life. Picture this. You're merging onto a busy interstate, with the grandkids in the back and luggage behind them. The gap is closing, and you need power right now. That's exactly when this engine is going to feel flat and overworked. Meanwhile, the Chevrolet Traverse is delivering a more powerful engine. The Nissan Pathfinder is still offering a proper V6. The base hybrid won't fix things either. Its 2.5-liter four-cylinder is teaming up with electric motors for just 245 horsepower. It's reaching 60 miles per hour in about 7.5 seconds, yet it feels slow when you're trying to pass a slow-moving truck. Towing is also dropping to only 3,500 pounds. The obvious answer is the Hybrid Max, but that option is about to create a brand new problem. Number 5. More Powerful Hybrid Is Not So Efficient The Hybrid Max is the version Toyota should have built from the start. A turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder is joining forces with stronger electric motors. Together, they're generating 362 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque. The 0-60 sprint is dropping to roughly 6 seconds quicker than most V6 three-row rivals. Towing also climbs back to 5,000 pounds. So, where is the catch? It's sitting right at the pump. The Hybrid Max is returning an EPA-estimated 27 miles per gallon combined. That number looks fine until you compare it with the rest of the lineup. The regular hybrid is achieving up to 36 miles per gallon combined. Even the gas-only model is managing 24 miles per gallon. The two hybrids are separated by 9 miles per gallon. Around town, the Max is improving a little over the gas version, but not enough to matter. In other words, you're paying for a hybrid badge. In return, you're getting barely three extra miles per gallon over the gas version. Think about why most people choose a hybrid in the first place. They're tired of watching fuel prices climb every time they pull into the station. They want fewer stops on long trips. The Hybrid Max is going to hand you strong acceleration, but it won't deliver the savings you expected. Therefore, buyers are facing an awkward choice. They're either picking efficiency with sluggish performance or performance with average fuel economy. There's no sweet spot in between. The Hybrid Max is also asking for a price premium, which makes that trade-off even harder to swallow, and even the quickest version can't hide what you'll be hearing inside the cabin. Number 4. Sound insulation could be better. The Grand Highlander is letting in more road noise than rival SUVs. Wind noise stays reasonably controlled. Road and ambient noise, however, keep finding their way inside. The engine adds to the problem. While cruising, you're barely going to hear it. Ask for strong acceleration, though, and the four-cylinder is revealing a coarse, unrefined soundtrack. That's a sharp contrast to the smooth hum of a V6. The hybrid max is a bit quieter when pushed hard. Still, testers are measuring similar sound levels across the lineup. Then there's something owners are calling cabin boom. It's a low-frequency booming noise that appears at low speeds. One owner described it as being stuck inside a drum. Toyota is treating it as a characteristic instead of a defect. For many owners, that explanation won't help much. Now think about a long road trip with the whole family on board. You want to talk with your passengers without raising your voice. You want to hear the person in the third row. Every extra decibel is going to make those hours more tiring than they should be, and a noisy cabin hurts even more when the drive itself offers nothing to keep you entertained. 3. Boring Driving Dynamics Nobody is buying a three-row family SUV for track days. Still, most drivers are hoping for at least a bit of engagement behind the wheel. That's precisely what the Grand Highlander's missing. On the highway, it's a smooth, comfortable cruiser that soaks up bumps with ease. But the driving dynamics are sedate, and it never encourages you to explore a winding road. The steering feels distant, and the chassis prefers calm, relaxed inputs. Even the torque-vectoring all-wheel drive is only subtly improving balance. It's helping on paper, but you're hardly going to feel it. Reviewers are also saying the brake pedal tuning needs a rethink. Slowing this big SUV feels less refined than expected. City driving is exposing another weakness. The Grand Highlander measures 201.4 inches long, and the turning radius is subpar. Testers are reporting three- and four-point turns just to squeeze into garages and tight parking spots. One reviewer even compared it to a bull in a china shop. Meanwhile, the Mazda CX-90 is proving that a three-row SUV can still be fun to drive. Its precise steering and sharper handling are going to put a smile on your face. Sure, it's offering less passenger space, but it shows the Grand Highlander didn't need to feel this dull. Unfortunately, that same lack of personality is spreading to the way it looks. 2. FORGETTABLE DESIGN Toyota packed the Grand Highlander with thoughtful touches. Then, for some reason, the designers wrapped everything in a rather anonymous body. Critics are pointing out the slab-sided flanks and the textbook front and rear ends. One reviewer even joked it has a face only a mother could love. What's more surprising is the regular Highlander. It's the smaller, cheaper sibling, yet it's pushing far more boundaries with its styling. The Grand Highlander simply blends into the sea of suburban SUVs. Even the dark-themed Nightshade Edition is only adding black badges and trim. The shape underneath stays exactly the same. Park it at busy supermarket and you're going to spend a minute finding it. The cabin isn't changing that impression. It's solidly built, with soft padding where it matters most, but it's also featuring laughably fake-looking wood trim. Even in the top platinum trim, there's hard, cheap-looking plastic on the center console. Rivals are moving in the opposite direction. The redesigned Hyundai Palisade is bringing a fresh look inside and out. The Grand Highlander, on the other hand, is playing it way too safe. That would be easier to accept if the price tag were playing it safe as well. Number one, upper trims are expensive. At first glance, the pricing looks fair. The gas-powered LE is starting at $43,855, and it's arriving well-equipped. But there's a catch. The LE is very scarce at dealerships, so most buyers are going to end up in pricier trims. The climb from there is steep. The Limited is starting at $51,355 with front-wheel drive. The Platinum is jumping to $57,040. Choose the Hybrid Max, and things escalate even faster. The Max Limited is already sitting around $54,545. The top-max Platinum is reaching around $60,175. Add a $1,350 panoramic moonroof on lower trims, and the bill keeps growing. The surround-view camera is costing another $600, while all-wheel-drive adds $1,600 more. Imagine walking into the dealership with a budget for a sensible family SUV. You're picturing a price in the mid-40s. Then you're adding leather, ventilated seats, the stronger hybrid, and a few safety extras. Suddenly, the number on the sheet is creeping into luxury SUV territory. That's the moment many shoppers are going to feel blindsided. For comparison, the Kia Telluride is starting at $39,190, while the Hyundai Palisade begins at $39,435. In fact, the Grand Highlander is ranking as the most expensive three-row SUV among its direct competitors. Demand is also staying strong, with new units selling in about a week. Buyers are saving only around $1,800 off sticker-on-gas models. Therefore, don't expect big discounts at the dealership. The Grand Highlander is still offering a huge cabin and an adult-friendly third row. Plenty of standard safety tech is coming along, too. But the gas and base hybrid engines are struggling once the cabin fills up. The Hybrid Max is solving that, only to throw away most of the fuel savings. Add a noisy cabin, dull handling, anonymous styling, and steep upper trim pricing, suddenly this practical Toyota is asking you to compromise more than its reputation suggests. The smartest move is going to be sticking with lower trims, or test-driving its rivals before you commit. Speaking of rivals, they are not flawless either. One of the key competitors, the Honda Pilot, is often seen as one of the most complete models in the class. But it also comes with flaws, which you can check out in our next video. It's spacious, practical, and refined, but its outdated tech and mediocre fuel efficiency will leave you wanting for more.