Driven: 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid Proves That Size Matters

Inside the Grand Highlander, there are choices to be made with regard to the second row. It can be configured with a bench seat to hold eight people in total or with a pair of captain’s chairs, reducing capacity by one but increasing second-row comfort dramatically. The Platinum Hybrid Max comes only with the captain’s chairs, which combined with the sunroof, gives a feeling of space that’s backed up with plenty of legroom and elbow space.

In the third row, there’s 33.5 inches of legroom – 5.5 inches more than the regular Highlander offers. While that’s plenty, and a rarity in a crossover, taller adults will find headroom isn’t ideal for longer journeys. Still, the Grand Highlander beats the regular version on that front, too, by more than an inch.

It’s worth noting that Grand Highlander models get 0.8 inches more second-row legroom than the shorter Highlanders, but it’s the latter that gets the most font-passenger legroom, albeit just 0.3 inches more.