​​TopSpeed.com Reviews the 2026 Grand Highlander Hybrid​ 

Top Speed.com starts its review of the 2026 Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid by noting that before there were three-row large crossovers, there was certainly a need for them. In the decades before crossovers or even minivans became de rigueur, big families resorted to gargantuan SUVs like the Chevrolet Suburban, large full-size wagons with nauseating rear-facing third rows, or full-size vans. One thing these all had in common at the time was big, thirsty, old-school V8s, which really took a bite out of the big family budget as gas prices began (and continued) to rise. Even after 3-row crossovers came to somewhat save the day, significant fuel efficiency improvement didn’t really come until the launch of the Grand Highlander Hybrid discussed in this Sharp Automotive post. 

Perhaps because they already had the Sequoia and the Sienna minivan, Toyota was surprisingly late to the dedicated 3-row crossover market, introducing the Grand Highlander some twenty years after the first Honda Pilot. Sure, you could put a third seat in the normal Highlander and, at one time, even in the RAV4, but you need small kids to put in them, and kids have this annoying habit of growing. 

Now, there is a whole segment of 3-row crossovers, and it isn’t just big families that buy them. Even a family of four can find themselves with visiting relatives or friends the kids want to take along for an outing, and that is before even addressing school sports, scouts, or whatever the kids are into that requires traveling in bulk. 

Most of these 3-row crossovers use V6 or turbocharged 4-cylinder engines, but while Toyota was late to the party, it wasted no time bringing hybridization to the Grand Highlander.  There are three powertrains for the Grand Highlander, and two of them are hybrids.  As Topspeed.com puts it: “one prioritizes fuel-cost savings, the other prioritizes power delivery without completely pitching the family purse out the window.” 

The basic hybrid setup is a 2.5-liter inline-4 with two or three motors, depending on whether it is FWD or AWD. It is connected to a CVT, but doesn’t send power to the rear wheels on all-wheel drive models: instead, a rear-mounted motor drives the rear wheels when necessary. The front-drive version of this arrangement is the most fuel-efficient, with an EPA city/highway/combined MPG estimate of 37/34/36 MPG, respectively. The city figure is actually better than you will find in a non-hybrid Corolla. You don’t lose much fuel efficiency when opting for all-wheel drive traction, as it is rated at 26/32/34. 

For those who want a bit more punch or live at high altitudes, there is the hybrid MAX. This combines the non-hybrid model’s 265-hp turbocharged 2.4-liter inline-4 with Toyota’s hybrid system, resulting in 362 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque. All this power is managed by a 6-speed automatic transmission, and all Hybrid MAX models have AWD. There is an efficiency penalty for all that power, but at 26 / 27 / 27, it is still far better than the nearly single digits previous generations of big families had to put up with. 

The mpg figures are even more impressive when you consider that Toyota built the Highlander to provide room for adults in all three rows. It is made even more accommodating with sliding second-row seats that let 2nd-row passengers generously lend some of their legroom to the 3rd-row passengers and then stretch out when the third row is empty and possibly folded. If you are seating three in the rear, it still makes sense for them to be the smallest (or at least thinnest) of your group, as sharing the same area as the rear wheel wells reduces hip room from 57 inches in the second row to 45.7 inches in the third. 

Fortunately, there’s still plenty of room for cargo even when the third-row is in use, as there’s 20.6 cubic feet of space behind it. That won’t cover eight people’s luggage for an extended vacation, but it may be enough to carry several suitcases for a weekend getaway.  

Topspeed.com concludes: “In an era when buyers are keenly aware of the biggest bang for the buck, the 2026 Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid stands out for its minimal cost of ownership and larger-than-life cabin.” We say, if you want space, efficiency, and appreciate it coming from the manufacturer that knows hybrids better than anybody, the Grand Highlander is for you. And if you live anywhere near Watertown, South Dakota, the place to check out the Grand Highlander is Sharp Automotive.