2025 Toyota Grand Highlander Nightshade Hybrid -Review by David Colman +VIDEO

Makes a great daily driver

David Colman

Photos and Story by David Colman
Special Correspondent
THE AUTO CHANNEL

When Toyota recognized that American 3-row SUV buyers were looking for more roadside real estate than their Highlander offered, they stretched the dimensions of the original in every direction to create the Grand Highlander, now in its second year of production. This model is based on a modified TNGA-K platform, and tariff watchers will be interested to learn it's assembled at Toyota's new manufacturing facility in Princeton, Indiana. While the original Highlander still remains available ($39,120-$53,125), the Grand ($43,070-$58,125) offers six inches more length and a four-inch longer wheelbase. Those dimensional changes allow better access to the third row bench seat, which now accommodates 3 occupants rather than 2. The stretch also increases cargo volume behind row two from 40.5 cubic feet to 48.5 cubic feet. Because height and width increase by just two inches, the Grand Highlander looks very much like its smaller cousin, which is to say blocky, muscular, and handsome in a boot scooting boogie kind of way.

New for 2025 is the addition of a Nightshade Hybrid version, which utilizes blacked-out door handles, badges, mirror caps, and rear spoiler to provide an understated stealth look. Our test vehicle was painted "Cement," a newly available Nightshade color this year. Model-specific black 20 x 8J alloy rims mount Continental 255/55R20 ContiContact all-season radials (TW 680). Viewed from the side, the flat roofline and blackened roof rails minimize the 70 inch height of this SUV, What you can't see from ground level is the complex, optional ($1,350) Panoramic Roof which opens the otherwise somber black leather-trimmed interior to a world of light and fresh air.

Other Nightshade amenities include heating and ventilation of the front row seats, plus heating on the captain's chairs in row two. A 12.3-inch touch screen runs Toyota's latest Audio Multimedia system, and a standard 11-speaker JBL premium sound system pumps out the tunes. The Nightshade is based on the top-level trim of Toyota's Limited Hybrid, with which it shares such niceties as a leather-trimmed, heated steering wheel, a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster, and ambient cabin lighting.

Our test Nightshade Hybrid carried a base price of $52,610 and an as-delivered price of $56,818. It utilized a 2.5-liter inline 4, which drove all 4 wheels (on demand rather than full-time)through an electronically controlled CVT transmission. This powertrain produced 245 hp and posted a 0-60mph run of 7.8 seconds. More powerful engine combinations are available, including a straight internal combustion motor making 265hp (0-60 time of 7.5 seconds) and a 362hp Hybrid MAX unit which churns out 362hp and 400lb.-ft of torque. However, neither of these more powerful engines garner the super mileage rating of our baseline Hybrid test engine, which registers 36MPG City, 32 MPG Highway, and 34MPG Overall. Given the Grand Highlander's generous 17.2 gallon fuel tank, you can expect to cover just over 500 miles between refueling stops. Tow rating is 3500lbs.

The logical dash layout we have come to expect from Toyota is evident in spades the instant you climb aboard the Grand Highlander. The front and second row seats all offer excellent lower back and side support. The shift mechanism is perfectly located where your right arm comes to rest atop the transmission tunnel. The "Start" button is located d irectly in your line of sight, not hidden behind the steering wheel rim. Best of all, Toyota engineers have resisted the temptation to cram all necessary driving functions into one of those digital menus so popular today with designers looking to "clean up the clutter." Instead of going down that distracting path, Toyota has graced Grand Highlander operators with 26 wonderfully physical buttons splayed across the dash, plus another dozen on the spokes of the steering wheel. We reveled in the fact that you can actually activate everything from the HVAC temp to the seat heaters to the suspension settings without taking your eyes off the road to play video pong.

From a practical standpoint, the interior storage areas are designed to help rather than hinder livability. The center console is so deep you could lose a six-pack in it. Conversion of rows two and three to storage space requires but a couple of manual latching operations to flatten the unneeded seats. Doing so yields an astonishing 98 cubic feet with rows 2 and 3 laid flat. In that configuration, loading my mountain bike through the huge tailgate and placing it between the widely spaced rear fender wells proved to be one of the easiest SUV load-ins I've ever experienced.

I have but one reservation about the Grand Highlander I tested. With just 245hp to tote around 4,555 pounds of curb weight, the base hybrid offers an adequate but sometimes sluggish power-to-weight ratio of 18.59 lb/hp. If you equip your Toyota with the available hybrid MAX driveline, you will boost output to 362hp, thereby shaving the power-to-weight ratio to a much more sprightly 13.63lb/hp. The Max upgrade provides enough passing power to propel the Grand Highlander from Zero to 60mph in 5.6 seconds, zing it through the quarter mile in 14.3 seconds at 98mph, and tow 5,000 pounds. Now those are numbers I would buy.

2025 TOYOTA GRAND HIGHLANDER NIGHTSHADE HYBRID

• ENGINE: 2.5 liter inline-4 DOHC, 16 valve D4S Injection + permanent magnet synchronous traction motors front and rear
• HORSEPOWER: 245hp (Combined)
• TORQUE: 175lb.-ft.@4400rpm
• FUEL CONSUMPTION: 36MPG City/32MPG Highway
• PRICE AS TESTED: $56,818

HYPES: Huge Sweet Spot as Daily Driver

GRIPES: Down on Sheer Grunt

STAR RATING: 10 Stars out of 10

©2025 David E Colman