2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Snow and Rain Review
We test how well the 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid can handle rain and snow conditions as we make the trek from our Proving Grounds on the Washington State Peninsula all the way to Central Washington.
#Toyota #Snowtest #grandhighlander
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Great review. You tested it with the right tires as 99% will not use AT tires on this vehicle. Toyota has seemingly nailed it with this version of the Highlander. Good looks and good capabilities.
Yeah Toyota realized they screwed up when the Telluride came out. The regular Highlander looks like a station wagon with the same cramped third row. Kirk Kriefels channel thinks the regular highlander will go out of production next year.
AT tires would be a stretch for this, but however with All-Weather tires becoming more and more mainstream those would be a perfect fit for that snow & Slush.
And yes. We absolutely do appreciate you finding the limits on these stock vehicles. Thanks for this!
This the best design of all the Highlander generations
Reminds me of a Grand Cherokee, but all SUV's look the same to me lol. I'm a wagon guy, more practical
Absolutely and very impressive balance of performance, fuel economy and roominess.
One of my little pleasures is watching my average mpg climb back up when coming back over the pass. Thanks for the great review.
I have the same Grand Highlander you tested, Im aware 99.5% of my time it's my daily kid hauler and grocery go getter, but knowing that it's relatively capable of what you've shown here, maybe I'll head up to the snowy hills of Lake Tahoe with a little more confidence than I had before.
I actually live in Tahoe, bought the GH for exactly that. I know there are more snow/terrain capable vehicles in Toyotas line-up, but this car is not meant to go off roading. Wife and I drive up to Portland to visit the son several times a year, and this is so much of a pleasure to drive, our Rav4 left me exhausted. I now have 6000 miles on the GH and have zero regrets spending, after all, a nice chunk of cash.
Just got my Grand Highlander Platinum last month, love it. We are going skiing on Christmas weekend so this was vey helpful, can’t wait to try on snow, Thank you.
Greetings from southern Ontario Canada as a driving instructor i always recommended winter tires doesn't matter if you have awd or rwd or fwd i found your presentation throughly enjoyable and i giggled 3 times
Hi - I have the GH Platinum Hybrid Max, about 10 weeks old with 3500 miles, and have none, not one of the negative symptoms some folks are referring to. This is the most pleasant vehicle to drive, smooth as butter, quiet, braking is superb and exactly how I feel they should be. Yes, I agree the body panels are rather thin, some of them are aluminum, all to save on weight. Test drive one if youre in the market for a new vehicle.
Really nice review and demo of the various modes. Impressive.
I have been researching this vehicle for purchase. Your review was most helpful. Thank you!
I love these tests! It's important to know how a vehicle will do in the snow and on some dirt roads.
Ryan, As impressive as this 362 hp Hybrid Max powertrain is, I would be prepared to compromise with the 35 mpg, AWD, not-so-Max Hybrid on 18" rims and just stay away from the toughest trails. BTW Toyota also offers a 3 row 4Runner. 😉
I have a 2 row 4Runner and I can tell you that the 3rd row is useless in that vehicle and only takes up what limited cargo room that it already has.
Great job testing the traction control. I really enjoy your videos.
Loved watching you make that climb in snow! I have the same vehicle! Sweet!
Now I wanna see a Toyota Sienna AWD do this lol
Great review. We own a Hybrid Max. It is capable and roomy SUV and has lots of power to it. Took it to North and South rims of the Grand Canyon last summer and it drives like a breeze. Since we are avid in winter sports, we changed to NOKIAN TYRES HAKKAPELIITTA 10 SUV tires, went up to British Columbia and it drives smooth and steady in the mountain resorts. As always your reviews are informative and impartial.
I was just 1 signature away 24 hours ago on this vehicle... the small number of negative reviews got me psyched out of spending $60,000. I saw some off road reviews where the system was warning about overheating, people saying that the hood/door quality is less than stellar (seeing your hood wobble on the freeway, or the sound/feel of the doors when you open/close them). Some other mentions were how the breaks were extremely soft and did not feel responsive on such a heavy vehicle, felt like driving a boat, jumpy transmission (like you could slow down, and then speed up, which would cause the system to get confused for a split second, which would make it lurch, instead of gradually increasing the RPMs), etc.
Excellent test! I’m definitely in the market for this exact setup, so its great to see how it does on long road trips, with some good trail work as well to get to our camping sites. Being in the Las Vegas area, altitude climbs in and out of the valley on road trips absolutely require a little more oomph than my current ride.
Pretty cool that You take this kind of SUV on yours off road course and challenge them. Greetings
Very impressed with the driving dynamics in the snow. We will be travelling through CO this winter with our GHHM and were wondering about how it may handle the snow and ice. Your videos really help us with the expected ability of the GHHM in normal to somewhat unexpected snow use. When we were ironing out some early transmission issues we discussed some of the driving dynamics with the Toyota engineers. One thing they told us is to make sure we use SNOW mode when driving out in the snowy mountains. I can definitely see why now thanks to your video!!!
Can’t wait to see the new property. Congratulations on the expansion.
I've said it several times before, I'll say it again. Keep doing what you're doing, Ryan.
Great review! Now I want a Grand Highlander.
Love these videos ! And good to see my new car is capable to do this ! ❤
$60K! At this price I'd have to live in it! Glad you can sleep in it.😁
Some people were paying $75K for a Telluride! Imagine 😂
@@moloono1 Two of my friends paid close to 80k for a Tesla 3 back in 2022.
@@DarianDT ouch
@@moloono1wow. 75k for a Kia 🤦♂️. Must take a special kind of moron to do something that stupid
@@DarianDTwow
I’m actually going to go pick up our Grand Highlander today…. I sure hope it does well in your test?? Hahahaha. Watching with interest for sure
That was really cool watching the wheels action, using the hill descent control. I thought it did pretty well for a rather large vehicle.
Its really a solid SUV. i quite impressed by it performance 👌
With 8"of ground clearance and minimal approach angle, it is a glorified minivan and nothing else.
@@charonboat6394😅 when did a minivan have 8” of clearance? What was displayed was enough capability for most people to get out trouble in adverse conditions. I will add that performance on that snow covered trail with all season road orientated tires was impressive actually. Tires are huge in regards off-road performance or in this case difficult road conditions. Winter tires for snow and ice Mud terrain for mud All terrain for dirt and rock But everything is a compromise.
@@charonboat6394it’s enough for everyday use.
@joeblack1052 You forgot that aproach break over angles are more important than ground clearance alone. With such long wheel base ground clearance of 8" means very little.
@@charonboat6394 you don’t know what you are talking about. These vehicles are for formed roads Asphalt,gravel,dirt,snow covered On formed roads approach angles and break over angle have no relevance. Enough clearance is all that is relevant 8 inches is plenty for that usage. Minivans by design for easy ingress and egress have low clearance.
Muy bien revisada la camioneta, se ve que Toyota hizo un gran trabajo y nadie como este canal para probar los vehículos en condiciones algo fuera de lo normal. Buen video.
I own a 2017 Highlander and with the OEM tires back in the winter February of 2018 I was impressed with how good it was in a couple inches of your type of snow. One thing this vehicle has in its button” mode” arsenal is 4X4 which I’m thinking is a “ lighter” version of locking hubs. I’ve never had to use it and frankly I’ve not used Snow mode that often, maybe 3 times for a minute or two. In mid February that first winter I bought Michelin X Ice tires and that made it like a tank in deep snow, not a single slip on some pretty steep hills. Another difference between my older Highlander and this one you are testing is the torque. I’ve got about 266 lb feet and you’ve got over 400. That makes the vehicles computer need to be more active with the brakes and power distribution on steep snowy hills. I want one now but the reason we got the 2017 Highlander was a 14 year old son and occasional grandkid to haul around. Now my son has his own wheels so the extra room is not a necessity except my wife would like the extra room to haul back even more stuff from our 421 mile each way Costco run twice a year. 18:00
Can you do the same test with the cx-90? Awesome videos!
I love to watch mitsubishi outlander 2023 in your show doing off-road tests. I love watching your videos. Thanks
King of the segment ❤
That’s damn impressive!
Impressive power plant
Please do another Honda Pilot Trailsport video in this same snow trail!
I agree about the centre screen...nice size. The Tundra has one that is way too big. Nice SUV and the AWD system seems to work very well. Some past Toyotas with AWD rear electric motor sucked bad.
Something I noticed as well with this Hybrid Highlander, the AWD system seemed to actually work much better than other vehicles with the same electric motor based AWD...maybe after all this time Toyota has finally figured out how to get the system to work when its supposed to LOL. We shall see if they can correct the shortcomings of the system in their other vehicles in the near future. I'd still prefer a mechanical 4WD/AWD system however....but good to see that Toyota seems to have changed some of the programming to get that rear motor to work as it should, at least in snow mode.
Impressive Toyota Highlander for all weather fun
great review
The simple answer to this vehicle is a Mini Van in the shape of an SUV. It does all that mini vans can. Nothing more , Nothing less .👍👍👍👍
answer to this vehicle or is it what this vehicle basically is? lol
I'd be interested to see how this does with better AT tires. Also, did you consider turning off traction control? Seems like that may have helped. The “max” powertrain in this tested Grand Highlander is worth the coin, it’s the exact same powertrain as in my RX500h. Not fast, but has enough oomph. $60k isn’t bad for this vehicle-it does a lot, has the space, probably will be reliable.
Thanks so much for this review! I have a 2018 4Runner off-road premium that I absolutely love but I would like something with more seating and cargo space, so this review makes me feel less apprehensive about trading my 4Runner in for a GH!
Hill decent control is used every morning while in Xmode coming from our driveway down our private road before we get to the county road. There’s a corner and on both sides is a drop off. One side goes into a deep ditch and the other into a pond.
Tires are more important
@@Redhawk24 we have Michelin Cross Climate 2 tires on both our Outback and Forester. They’re great tires, but that corner tends to get slick
Great review as always. Any chance you can do a review of the gas-only version with the standard AWD system? It’s nice to see what this powertrain can do but, in reality, the vast majority of GH buyers aren’t going to cough up $60K+ for the HybridMax.
I agrre!! I bought a grandhighlander xle with 2.4 turbo and regular awd and i wonder how good is it
As somebody who normally buys used cars instead of new, I plan to stay away from hybrids. So I would like to see a review of the gas only AWD version as well. And the test in this video seemed to me like a good test. I think this is how most folks will use them. You get caught in bad weather unexpectedly and need to get home or go get a family member while dealing with snow or other weather conditions. Or you may want to drive up a hill to get a nice view and maybe take a Picture to share or something. If it can handle that it should be a good useful vehicle for most folks. Also,just in case he reads my comment, I'm glad he checked the cargo area and showed it was big enough for him to lay down in. While I'm not sure what the average height is nowadays, if 6.1 will fit in it,that should give people a decent idea of whether or not they will fit. And in full discloser I'm not that tall.
love the video
Good Job, please do the regular hybrid too
Ryan, We had to put both our Outback and Forester into Xmode just to get up our private road and into our garage with the last blast of snow (before it started melting the next day). We got almost 2 feet. Our road is almost bare now but the snow is still on the sides. Thanks for the review on the Toyota.
Sounds like the Subarus are better up to the deep snow challenge...I want a Forester Wilderness....gotta get some bills paid off though before I can even think about taking on a $600+ car payment. Was just watching another Subaru video last night saying sales of the Forester are up 46% this year. I prefer to avoid all that turbo charged engine nonsense, and so far Subaru has kept the turbo out of the Forester Wilderness, I hope they continue to do so.
@@wildbill23c Until 2019 the Forester was offered with a turbo, but only 4% of buyers wanted a turbo in the Forester. My Forester is a Touring model. I would have bought the Limited but it only has boring Black leather interior and I wanted either Tan (like in my wife’s Outback) or Brown, so I had to buy the Touring model instead with the brown leather interior. My Forester is a Lemon. The low oil light keeps flickering, the dashboard lights burn out and the transmission is slipping so it needs to be replaced. My Forester has less than 14K miles on it. As soon as the transmission is replaced, I’ll be selling it and go back to Toyota.
Great job, looks like will replace old old highlander with new one .. what’s sad is that they don’t engineer any space for tire chains ? You go up like you did and then decide to walk ridge to look at those elk in the draw .. Keeps raining and your snow is now compacted ice, how do you get out ? A 30 second video can teach anyone to put on chains and it can save a lot of trouble coming off a mountain road .
I’m impressed good vehicle
Great review! The performance of this family hauler is impressive. I'm pleasantly surprised by the AWD capabilities of Toyota's non-off-road vehicles. They seem more than adequate for occasional light off-road family adventures.
I really like it
Nice test! And the hybridMAX with the 2.4 sounds mean and grunty. Impressive performance for a 3row family SUV.
Cool color. I've heard toyota are selling these like hotcakes
Fantastic review of a very well designed vehicle. Would love to own one if the dealers do not slap extra fees. Not paying over MSRP
No way I would pay a penny over MSRP either. How much are they asking over?
@@michalp2362 Have owned one for a week now. Took three months to find the MAX within 250 miles, no markup, in the color combination my wife wanted. Paid $62931 (which included trailer hitch, special color, paint protection, cross bars, and about $400 of other extras).
Nice video! Still waiting for the car delivery.
congratulations on the purchase of the land
We received our sumo Highlander xle on sept 1 with the base turbo four popper. 17000 km now. Only one complaint outside the turbo four: The damn start/stop system defaults to on. Not Toyotas fault I guess… they are forced into emissions compliance. It has to be turned off whenever you don’t want it to activate.
I believe they have a programmer out there than can turn that nonsense stop/start crap off permanently.
I'll take that any way I can get it. @@wildbill23c
Slapping on 4 off-roaddies this thing can be a monster!
Got to say this review is pushing me over to this model. Moving from an 18 Santa Fe XL Ultimate, I really need this kind of snow control for where I am in the Rockies. Winter tires would make a world of difference. Not that impressed with the mileage though- was hoping for better efficiency.
Nice car!
Great review. Did it do better than Pilot on this trail?
Damm 🙌🙌🙌
I really want to see capability differences between all 3 powertrain options in AWD. Gas one seems to be able to send mose power rearward.
This is the perfect machine to replace my 2008 5.7L sequoia with 218200 miles. But…I prefer no debt so I’ll keep on driving my old hog.
Nice
are those winter tires or all season? Edit :you mentioned later in the video that they are all season.
I want your test course! But, mainly as a private mountain biking circuit.
Thank you. Will you do one please for 2024 Jeep Wrangler Sahara in city snow and mountain snow? Thank you.
Ryan, speaking of Toyota, I saw a video stating that they were going to be releasing a new version of the RAV4. However, it was an Australian channel. Is that only for certain countries, or will the US be getting a new generation as well? Or have you heard any rumblings about that?
Im interested in the hybrid base model grand highlander. A lot of the reviews are of the hybrid max, which has a lower mpg. The basic amenities are the same though.
please test the lower level that is gas xle on the snow and ice road. thank you
I'm having a hard time deciding between this exact model, 2024 Acadia, Yukon/Tahoe, and a trd pro 4runner. I'm going from a basic, manual 2010 forester, so anything will be an upgrade. We have a 3-year-old w another one on the way and a 50lb springer spaniel. We live in the city so idk if the yukon/tahoe makes the most sense. I like the new gx 550, but my wife already wants a volvo xc90 eventually and says that 70k is a little much for an adventure vehicle. I tow a driftboat (maybe 1500 fully loaded w trailer) pretty frequently in spring-late fall on WI rivers. Some landings are pretty primitive along the rivers. The forester has handled everything so far, it did start rolling down the ramp at one take out, but wheel chocks have solved that. We do a lot of camping, but I don't think anything crazy enough that we would NEED an off road oriented vehicle as it is the midwest. It seems like this is the practical choice. But I've been having a hard time narrowing it down. Open to any advice. Thanks.
I hope you do this same test with the Pilot Trailsport!
Thank you Ryan for great review. I am shopping for 3 rows SUV. I am debating between 2024 Grand Highlander and 2024 Honda Pilot. Please could anyone give me some advices? Thanks.
Thanks for this great review. Impressive result. However, everyone seems to be testing the MAX version, which I doubt to be the mass seller. It would be interesting to see test of gas or (non-MAX) hybrid, too.
With some really gnarly off-road tires , that thing would pretty impressive
Proportionally well designed car. Great looks When to receive this one in saudi?
Great review! Please do Lexus TX to compare
Need that extra room in that grand highlander to fit your giant balls for driving in the snow on those ledges. Watching it slide sideways towards the hillside made me pucker a little bit.
Yeah that is nasty when losing traction and vehicle just wants to go sideways it is important to know when to stop and not push it too far.
how do you compared the subaru AWD vs the grand Highlander awd?
I like your reviews. how come you don't have a model y review?
How fast was the battery losing charge while going up hill? Do you think the standard 2.5 turbo AWD would send more power to the rear considering the electric motor is only 100hp?
i like it but will wait to see what the new ascent will have in store to compete about the Grand Highlander Max
I had a 2016 platinum with cross climate tank tread tires. It was extremely capable. Though to that still has THE best patented traction control systems, the new vehicles, which goes for all brands, seem to suck more. On this you obviously need to air down for this terrain.
I wonder how regular grandhighlander awd system would do!!
What do you guys think of the goodyear duratrax for a vehicle like this?
Like! It
Did i just watch a toyota hybrid awd system do that well? God 2023 is weird
Please do the subaru ascent
Drivesporttv what color is that called?
Does your local Toyota dealership have low inventory? Mine does.
Great review! This is an awesome car and provides tons of value for the price. Great mpg and definitely better than the Korean alternatives. I like the Toyota power train since it’s more fuel efficient.
11:45 Electric motors in the rear stopped applying power when stuck at the bottom. It was only the front wheels turning.
Yeah. It’s a Toyota hybrid awd. It sucks
I think during Snow and ice........lite weight cars perform better than Heavy cars with AWD system. I believe Honda Pilot AWD system is better too 😅👍
Test the new Outlander PHEV with its S-AWC.
Please do a snow test with the Honda pilot as well.
I really like the Grand Highlander. It corrected the design mistakes of the Highlander. Its closer in design to the current Rav 4. But Grand Rav 4 doesn't sound good at all. 😅 If i was on the market, this would be at the top of my list.
When the hybrid battery is low do you lose AWD capability since it’s only electric power at the rear?
can you do this on a cx-90 please?
I wonder how the hybrid system is impacted by the cold temperatures… Does it impact the gasoline motor/performance in any way? After 3 days of at or below 20F, I wonder… 🤔🤔🤔