AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)02/10 Report--

On February 10th, Toyota Grand Highlander officially made its debut at the 2023 Chicago Motor Show. It is understood that Toyota Grand Highlander is based on the TNGA-K platform, positioning medium and large SUV, located between Highlander and Sequoia, will be produced in a co-line factory in Indiana with Hanlanda, is expected to land in the North American market in the middle of the year, and then will be sold to Australia and other countries, or will be introduced into China.

Although homologous to Halanda, Grand Highlander does not copy the former in appearance, or it is not an extended version of Halanda. Compared with Hanlanda, the overall shape of Grand Highlander is more domineering, the front face is designed with upper and lower front grille, and the flat upper blackened front grille connects the lamp groups on both sides to form a penetrating design. The large hexagonal grille at the bottom, supplemented by a honeycomb structure, is closer to Toyota's popular 4Runner model in North America as a whole.

On the side of the body, due to the length of the car reaching 5100mm, coupled with a new shape of large-size wheels, as well as a stronger line design, the increase in the size of the body makes the overall gas field of Grand Highlander significantly improved, with the extension concentrated between C-column and D-column, that is, the position of the third row. In the rear part, the "C" shaped lamp group on both sides adopts a smoked design, which is combined with the central penetrating strip, together with the wider brake lights on the roof spoiler, which broadens the visual effect of the rear. The rear surround shape of the new car has also been upgraded, and the exhaust vents on both sides have a good sense of movement.

In terms of interior decoration, the shape of the front row of the new car is basically consistent with that of the Hanlanda, which is composed of an 8-inch LCD instrument and a 12.3-inch central control screen, but there is a completely different way of expression on the detailed lines. Before that, the Y-shaped silver trim panel from the right side of the Hanlanda screen to the co-driver's side has become more well-behaved on the Grand Highlander, and paying attention to practicality is its first priority. In addition, the control screen supports the interconnection of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto mobile phones, Connected Service Drive Connect and OTA upgrades.

In terms of configuration, Grand Highlander has three models, XLE, Limited and Platinum, and will be equipped with Toyota Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 (TSS 3.0) auxiliary driving functions, including collision warning, adaptive cruising, lane maintenance and automatic lane change. In addition, the new car also supports NFC keys and the latest Advanced Park System automatic parking function.

In terms of power, the Grand Highlander top model will be equipped with Toyota's latest Hybrid Max hybrid system, which consists of a 2.4T turbocharged four-cylinder engine + motor, with two front and rear motors, with a combined power of 367hp and a maximum torque of 542Nm. In addition, the new car will also offer a 2.4T fuel version and a 2.5-liter hybrid model, all with a four-wheel drive system.

It is not difficult to see that the Grand Highlander is also a model specially designed for the American market. Toyota's preference for North American consumers is still very accurate. In 2022, for example, Toyota's RAV4 Rongfang, Camry, Tacoma and Hanlanda are all in the top 10, of which the highest sales volume is RAV4 Rongfang, reaching 399941, which is the best-selling passenger car. However, in the medium and large SUV market, North American consumers prefer luxury brands, such as the BMW X5 and Mercedes-Benz GLE, and the launch of the Grand Highlander hopes to help Toyota open up a new battlefield. From the product point of view, the competitors of Grand Highlander in the North American market directly point to Ford Explorer, Volkswagen Atlas and Chevrolet Traverse models. The blessing and excellent space performance of THS hybrid system is the killer mace of Grand Highlander. In the future, it will be the product matrix composed of Henlanda and Sequoia. As to whether it can be recognized by consumers, let us wait and see.

Welcome to subscribe to the WeChat public account "Automotive Industry Focus" to get the first-hand insider information on the automotive industry and talk about things in the automotive circle. Welcome to break the news! WeChat ID autoWechat