New Toyota Grand Highlander offers roomier seven-seat interior and more practicality
Toyota will pull the covers off a stretched version of the Toyota Kluger SUV next week, to be known in the US market as the Toyota Grand Highlander.
Still unconfirmed for the Australia, the Grand Highlander will make its official debut at next week’s Chicago motor show on February 8 (US time), Toyota confirmed in a press release today.
“Toyota intends to make a grand entrance, of sorts,” the car-maker said. “On February 8, the automaker will unveil the all-new Grand Highlander, a three-row vehicle that bolsters Toyota’s SUV line-up and paves the way for the ultimate road tripper.
“Equipped for family adventures, the Grand Highlander will be the perfect addition to the line-up.”
The supersized Toyota Kluger has extra length over the standard model, liberating additional cargo and passenger space across its three-row cabin.
What’s more, the Grand Highlander will feature’s Toyota’s new Hybrid Max powertrain, the same as that offered in the existing Lexus RX 500h.
The powertrain combines a 2.4-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine with a rear-mounted electric motor to generate combined outputs of 274kW of power and 550Nm of torque, driving through a conventional six-speed auto transmission rather than a CVT.
An Australian-market launch still to be confirmed for the stretched seven-seat Toyota Kluger and the potent new Hybrid Max engine.
Just this week, Lexus ruled out offering the enlarged version of the equivalent Lexus RX, touted as the Lexus RX L.
The Grand Highlander is based on the same TNGA-K platform architecture as the Kluger sold in Australia.
As previous teaser images shows, the Grand Highlander’s rear-most seat offers much more legroom and its rear-end has been altered compared to the regular Kluger/Highlander, with more rectangular LED tail-lights and angular sheet-metal around the tailgate.
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Keyword: Stretched Toyota Kluger to be unveiled February 9