I was at church yesterday when a good friend of mine sheepishly sidled up to me during coffee hour to make a confession. As Lutherans, we get the confession thing over immediately and quickly at the start of service, so this post-service admission of a transgression caught me by surprise.
This friend is an upright sort of guy, with a wonderful family and a mild manner befitting a professor of science. He’s usually one of the first people I know to volunteer to help, and I can always trust him to propose the most logical solution to any problem I have.
What could be bothering him?
“I bought a new car.”
I should have known. For the last year, my buddy and his wife have been trying to juggle three quickly growing kids and a dog with their current fleet: A six-speed Golf Alltrack and an older Subaru Outback. Technically, both of their wagons have five seats for five people, but as their kids transition into being teenagers, I’ve seen the strain it puts on everyone. Plus, with grandparents visiting, I’ve witnessed them having to drive two cars to get places, which is a huge pain. If anyone needs three rows, it’s this family.
Being the local car guy, I’ve spent hours discussing the potential options with this couple. The wife is from Africa and has long desired an electric car and something like the great Volkswagen Microbus she grew up with. The Volkswagen ID.Buzz seemed like a great solution, but the lack of a seventh seat and the car’s mediocre range conspired to take it off the list. The Kia EV9 was a maybe, but the highest range version was a bit expensive.
I mentioned, as I do to anyone who will listen to me, that the Kia Carnival now comes in hybrid form and is a comfortable and attractive choice. Even with the more SUV-like styling, this family of dual-station wagons couldn’t swallow the idea of having a minivan. Minivans, even to someone who grew up abroad, are too associated with a kind of Soccer Mom aesthetic that didn’t sit well with them.
With vans being out, my next suggestion was the Mazda CX-90. It’s the most luxurious of the non-luxury three-row crossovers. It’s the best-handling of any of the cars I’ve driven in the segment. It’s available with a liquid smooth inline-six and, if you’re tempted, with a plug-in PHEV version. Given how much local commuting the family did, the PHEV made a lot of sense to me.
“We got the Grand Highlander.”
Damn.
My next question was to ask if he got a good deal, at least.
“No, of course not,” was his reply.
I guess he could see the disappointment on my face, because he immediately had to justify the decision to me. Here’s his logic, and it’s logic I hear all the time:
- Toyota is a well-known, safe entity
- It’s AWD
- It’s a fuel-efficient hybrid
- It’s not too expensive
- It has an actual usable third row
You can go into many dealerships across the great country of ours and walk out, that same day, with any number of very good three-row hybrid vehicles. You cannot do that with a Toyota Grand Highlander. I know this from experience, because I keep trying to tell people to go and buy other things, and they keep getting on a list for a Grand Highlander.
That’s what happened here. When a Grand Highlander in my friend’s spec finally became available, he didn’t hesitate to drive down to his local Toyota purveyor and drive out with his Grand Highlander (he kept the manual Golf wagon, though, because that’ll be something that never happens again). Again, this keeps happening. There is nothing I can say to stop any of my friends, who are in that we-have-kids-and-need-a-big-crossover space, from buying a Grand Highlander.
Even if I can get them to test drive other cars, they won’t do it. I had one friend who went and test drove, on my recommendation, the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid (which I did talk my Brother-in-Law into getting, so I’m not striking out every time). I’ve known this guy since we were both in middle school. He and his wife both liked the Santa Fe but didn’t trust that everything would keep working, based on nothing but a vibe.
It was here that I wanted to point out that the Grand Highlander is partially in such demand because it was pulled from the market due to an airbag issue, but none of my friends think that’s a big deal. Their logic is that it’s a Toyota, so it’ll be fine.
My biggest issue is that I can’t give anyone a good reason why they shouldn’t buy the big crossover. Is a minivan better for a big family? Obviously, Toyota makes a great one if they really want a Toyota. But many people don’t want a minivan.
Is the Mazda going to handle better? Yes, but if you don’t plug it in all the time, the cost/fuel savings are probably nil (the EPA estimates it’ll cost you $750 more to fuel the CX-90 plug-in, given current energy prices), and people don’t often care about handling. Does the Santa Fe look better? This is a judgment call, of course, but I think the Santa Fe is interesting, whereas the Grand Highlander is kind of boring.
I could make an argument for almost any other competitive vehicle, and have, but the Grand Highlander does occupy a real sweet spot. You may have to wait for one, and you’re not going to get a great deal, but at under $50,000 for the well-equipped base LE, it’s already a fair price. At 36 MPG combined, the Grand Highlander Hybrid in mid-hybrid trim is more efficient than the Carnival Hybrid on paper.
Ultimately, though, besides being a Toyota, the Grand Highlander benefits from having a third row that’s actually big enough for adult human beings. The back row of the Grand Highlander has, in fact, about three inches of legroom on the CX-90 and two inches of hiproom. That’s a big deal for people who have to regularly put another kid (or adult) in the way back. Mercedes echoed this in her glowing review of the Grand Highlander:
For starters, the rear doors open up wide, revealing second-row seats with easy levers to pull to slide them out of the way. From there, you can use a step to get into the third row. I’m not a small person by any means, yet I found getting into the rear of a 2024 Grand Highlander easier than any recent SUV that I can think of. Dare I say, getting in and out of the third row of the Grand Highlander can be graceful. Usually, I tumble out of these things, looking like a drunk.
Once you’re situated in the third row, you’re greeted to an environment that Toyota says is designed for adults. Well, Toyota is technically correct here. As a test, I left both of the second-row seats in their rearmost position. This would give the second-row passengers plenty of legroom. Toyota says the second row has 39.5 inches of legroom while the third row has 33.5 inches of legroom. For those of you counting, the second row is 0.8 inches larger than the regular Highlander while the third row is 5.5 inches larger. That also makes this third row 2.1 inches larger than the family favorite Kia Telluride!
The Grand Highlander being very good according to Mercedes, obviously, is also a reason why I’m having a hard time arguing against it. It’s a sensible choice. It’s a safe choice. For many people, it’s also potentially the right choice. I will probably borrow one, and then it’ll be even harder to make the case to buy something else.
There’s a lesson here for other automakers in this space, which is that the cost is not the overriding factor for many of my friends. Nor is safety. Brand image plays into it, but brand image is surmountable. The biggest issue is the third row. Once someone climbs back there, it’s hard for them to take anything I say to the contrary seriously.
Would I be happier seeing more CX-90s and Carnival Hybrids and Santa Fe Hybrids on the road? Absolutely. Do I get why all of my friends ignore me and get on a wait list for a Grand Highlander? Yup.
Top photo:
Counterpoint: There’s nothing you could say that would make me consider it, either.
It may be wonderful, but it’s not for me.
Even though I frequently recommend Honda and to a lesser extent Toyotas, I don’t think I will own another Honda/Toyota/Lexus. Toyota especially because their interiors are SOOOO plasticky. Those Mazda CX90s look GREAT! My BIL is a Mazda fan and I will admit they make some of the best looking cars, but when I borrowed his CX90 (previous gen) I still didn’t love driving it.
After reading this article, it seems like this vehicle wasn’t a bad choice for the family in question. However, having had a Grand Highlander as a loaner for a week (my car was in for service waiting on a backordered part), I can credibly say that I am NOT a fan.
Bad seating position, unsupportive seats, infuriating instrumentation display that is unable to display engine speed and an infinite amount of safety & driver assistance nannies that are seemingly impossible to all deactivate. It was like Whack a Mole.
Yeah I hated it. But I also recognize I’m not the target audience.
Anyway, I’m just glad they kept the Alltrack. I dropped mine off for inspection/final warranty work, and walking around the showroom reminded me that literally nobody makes a vehicle right now that I would accept as a replacement (even a super-wagon I’d like to drive like the Avant is not something I’d want to street-park in Pittsburgh, which is and will be my reality).
Same, I’ve got a 2014 Sportwagen TDI manual. I bought it at the tail end of VW’s re-selling efforts after Dieselgate, in 2020. I knew if I didn’t jump on one then I’d never find another one that looked as good and had low miles. Plus it was my preferred color combo, red outside and beige inside.
I don’t think there’s a single thing VW sells in America today that I would buy.
Toyota, and to a lesser extent, Honda, are the de facto “go to” for cars for a vast majority of the population. It’s like how we refer to all tissues as “Kleenex” even if they aren’t.
I see it on social media constantly. Anyone asks for any advice related to car buying, and the comments are swarmed with nothing but “Only consider Honda/Toyota.” One social media influencer I know bought a Jeep Grand Cherokee and was viscerally raked over the proverbial coals in the comments section because she “didn’t buy something reliable.” Are Grand Cherokees more prone to troubles than Highlanders? Possibly. Worth online-yelling at someone about? Meh.
I’ve recommended Mazda a lot, since I have a lot of experience with them (have had 2 CX-5s for my wife and my Mazda6 is a 2016 and going on year 10 with me). The 2.5 N/A SkyActiv is a sweetheart of an engine and you can find new CX-5s all day long for below MSRP vs. having to press your luck and pay markup on a RAV-4 or the like.
But the Toyota cult is strooooong and I guess it always will be. Not for lack of reason.
My fiancee has a 2018 Mazda3 hatch with over 80k miles on it. Not one single thing has gone wrong with it. It’s even still on the original brake pads, somehow. All I do is change fluids and filters. I highly recommend Mazda to anyone who asks. .
I currently drive a Toyota but it’s for the specific model, not the brand itself. I’ve had multiple Hondas but that’s because my friend worked at Honda and would get me great deals. Mazda has always been my favorite regular car brand, ever since my ’93 MX-6. I loved driving that so much, but it had a known distributor issue I could never ever fix so I got rid of it. Either way, bang for your buck and styling, you can’t beat Mazda. And no one has a nicer red than they do, and it’s not even close.
My only counter-argument:
The Sienna is a few grand cheaper, does everything the Grand Highlander does (including available AWD) just as well, if not better. The GH isn’t bad, but the minivan just does it all better, and you get sliding doors that open off of the key fob, which is a baller move in any parking lot.
Being able to kneel inside my mini-van during a thunderstorm and belt my kids into their cars seats. Then turn and get into my seat was a game changer. Try doing that in any 3-row SUV.
Yeah, probably the main reason to get the GH is towing, although the gap between the two is only 1,500 lbs. The GH also gets a hybrid max option with a lot more power, but based on fuel efficiency alone the base hybrid setup is the winner.
There’s also a gap in tech between the models: the Grand Highlander uses a more advanced suite of safety and driving aids. Though I’m sure the Sienna will eventually get that.
Didn’t the Sienna get an upgrade in the 2025 refresh?
I’m currently shopping for a decent used 23 or 24 Sienna to replace my 13, but debating waiting or paying the extra for the 25 just for that.
Probably don’t bother waiting unless you really want adaptive radar cruise, since the 2026 model will come with TSS2.5+, a warmed-over version of TSS2.0 with some new features but the old interface.
It’s possible the whole car needs a redesign to get TSS3.0, which is a significant upgrade over TSS2.0 and maybe actually be an argument for some to get the GHH.
I just looked it up – 2025 still has TSS2.0, so no reason to buy new vs. a low mile used vehicle. I can snag a ~30k mile 2023 XLE AWD for about $43k, and wait a few years for the 27+ models to come out.
I see that the TSS3.0 stuff is nice, but 2.0 is already a huge upgrade over the nothing that our 13 has, so I think my mind is made up.
Most people fall into a combination of these categories:
Toyota and Honda will continue to sell like hotcakes while these things remain true.
People who know me as the “car guy” ask me for advice all the time. I learned years ago to be vague, since they never listen and buy the most boring stereotypical appliance anyway. I save my breath for other things.
I have had three great successes as the person who is frequently asked about buying cars.
My BIL asked twice, first time, I had him get a Subaru Impreza Outback back when they had the 2.2 engines. He ran that thing everywhere and it held up really really well. Eventually it wore out and he needed something else. He had moved to california by then, so I had him get a Mazda Protege ES 2.0 (5 speed of course). He found one for peanuts with low miles and drove it for about 14 years? Ran like a top, he drove a lot and just wore it the hell out. After that he stopped listening to me for some reason as he had fetishized an AWD car so he could drive on the beach near where he lives. He has never driven on the beach in his Outback, but at least he was wise enough to get the 3.6R. He has, however, replaced a number of broken wheel studs.
My mom needed a car and after her Rav4 with the craptastic 2az-fe that ate oil was hitting the tipping point. I recommended that she get a Santa Fe with the v6 as I heard early rumblings that the 4 cylinder model was having issues. Sure enough, all those recalled 2.0s were stacking up and her Hyundai has run nearly flawlessly now for 14 years. The only thing beyond consumables was a leaky oil pan gasket.
Everyone else I know just buys by pointing their ass at something shiny and whipping out their wallet.
Told my brother not to buy a Nissan Quest, was a constant headache. Told my other brother not to buy a Chevy Aveo for his wife. What a hunk of crap. Told a friend who was shopping for econoboxes to buy anything but a Mitsubishi, and of course she came home with the shittiest Mirage she could find (again, piece of junk and utter misery to drive). Another friend wanted a Cadillac SRX from the dealer with an aftermarket warranty. Told her not to buy it. Oops, the company that sold her the warranty was branded as Cadillac, but was 3rd party and went out of business and she got nothing for her $8000 warranty.
Toyota is going to be in trouble in a couple years as their “safe brand” goes away as their engines keep blowing up and they deny warranties for going over 85 mph. I’d say 70% of their sales are from people like your friends, the other 30% is fanboy off roaders (who I used to be a member)
Toyota is just sooo boring. Good, boring cars. But when I got my wife a cx5, she understood. Used mazdas are great deals, and damn if that skyactive engine ain’t a sweet sounding zipper. Hell, the only reason my car is a Toyota is I wanted a Mazda 2, but ya couldn’t get one new in 2019. So I got a 2019 yaris.
Used to be. They seem dead set on becoming Japanese GM at this point between lemon engines, denied warranty claims, and weakening overall quality.
50-60k for this ugly beast was enough to stop me without a word being muttered.
Gross.
“…this family of dual-station wagons couldn’t swallow the idea of having a minivan.”
When a minivan is EXACTLY the vehicle they need. People are so…
Correct. We swallowed our pride and bought a Pacifica when our second was born. It’s literally the perfect family car. Everyone else is making compromises to try to hold on to some semblance of coolness. Guess what. You’re hauling gross little monsters around for the next twenty years. The cool ship has sailed.
Pacifica is a great looking car imo. I live on a rural highway and they always catch my eye when I see one go by.
Agreed (although I still prefer the original face over the 300-aping update). IMO it’s kind of the optimal form of minivan, which is why I don’t mind that it’s an old design at this point. Like, the Carnival doesn’t look bad to me, but it does look like someone tried way to hard to gussy up the minivan that Chrysler already perfected.
Meanwhile, when my kids were about 8 & 12, we did a weekend trip with another family, so we rented a minivan, and they acted like it was a damn Rolls Royce—they’re so good for kids. You have kids! Just get the car that’s ideal for families with kids.
When they move out, you can buy something cool again. But of course these basic-ass adults are just going to buy another Toyota, they very antithesis of cool.
It really is like a Rolls Royce for kids. My kids don’t know how good they have it. They don’t know what it’s like to ride in a Plymouth Voyager with cloth seats, no tint on the windows, only one rear door, and windows that only crack open while you’re getting baked by the sun coming through said untinted windows.
Not to mention things like last week when I needed some lumber for a project. Just stow and go the seats and throw 40 2x’s and four sheets of OSB in the back.
By the time your kids move out, you won’t be cool anymore regardless, so a cool car doesn’t matter anymore.
siennas have an Even longer wait list, more expensive and practically unobtainable. Kia carnivals are .. Kias. If you want a 3 row and a hybrid the list of available options are incredibly small!
Pacifica. Checks all the boxes.
Except for quality. The Pacifica, even with the tried-and-true Pentastar V6, is often a basketcase.
Eh, ours hasn’t been. But I did buy a Mopar extended warranty for the first time in my life. Does FCA / Stellantis have the quality of Toyota? Obviously far from it. But the Pacifica is still the best van on the market. The 3.6 pentastar is great (assuming you don’t blow a head gasket at 70k). And once you’re inside the van it’s like driving a luxury living room. If my Pacifica gets totaled today I will buy another one tomorrow.
I liked Pacificas so much I bought one of each generation.
The 2019 was great – until it began to fall apart immediately after the warranty ran out. Seats clunked, doors no longer sealed, plastic panels rattled, the 9HP trans clunked worse and worse going into 4th. So it was 2022 and I could trade it in for far more than I owed and not much less than I bought it for (after getting $14k off sticker) and ordered a 2022 PHEV after no Toyota store would sell me a Sienna for less than a $10k markup.
Again the Pacifica is great car in concept, EV range for 95% of trips, fantastic mileage even when not charged, and enough room for two dogs and two teenagers. BUT it spent a collective 5 months in the dealer on warranty work including a transmission replacement which apparently ALL of the hybrid vans made from ’17-’23 will need at some point since there’s a recall and unlimited mileage 10 year warranty on them. To add insult to injury, Chrysler refused to provide a rental and did a software update while it was in the shop for the fluid heater that also goes bad on all of the stellantis hybrids that basically made the engine turn on every trip in <45 degree weather just to help warm the battery pack, even when it was plugged in destroying the mileage that was already reduced in winter.
They’re the best thought out van available but the quality is just not good and warranty be damned many dealerships and Chrysler will actively fight you to get clear-cut issues fixed.
Yeah, that doesn’t sound like fun. We don’t have the phev. We wanted one. We needed a bigger vehicle during the height of the shortage and decided a van in the hand was better than one we could order and wait six months for.
We have friends that leased a phev and turned it in early because it did “weird things.” But they’re not car people so I don’t know exactly what the weird things are.
I do have concerns about the head gasket issues that lots of users in the FB groups report. And the solution from Chrysler seems to universally be “we need to replace the engine.” But is it really a problem or is it just that nobody posts “today my head gasket was perfectly fine.” Chrysler has shipped a LOT of vehicles with the 3.6 Pentastar.
We’ll probably drive it until it’s worth nothing, so if I have to have my local independent shop put a crate engine in it someday, it’ll suck, but it’s not the end of the world.
Our 2017 Pacifica (first model year) is still going strong at 122K. We had fuel sensor issues, and a few other minor issues, but nothing too big yet. The ZF 8-speed is not that smooth, but I’ve been told that’s due to Chrysler’s programming for it. I’ve hauled twelve 4×8 sheets of 3/4″ plywood in the back, and we fill up the back when going to our trailer all the time. You just can’t beat a Minivan for utility. I also would probably get another.
> says minivans are too Soccer Mom
> buys what has been THE Soccer Mom vehicle for 10+ years
This is what I really don’t get: the mom I once babysat for was the first parent I knew who had an SUV—in 1994. It’s over, parents, it’s been 30 years since driving the non-minivan might make you “cool”.
Technically crossovers are a new type—and they’re better baby-haulers than Explorers ever were—but their visual appeal is identical to that of the SUVs soccer moms have driven for 2 generations.
your buddy made the best decision. maybe not the right decision for a car person, but the right decision. it probably has more resale value than anything you suggested.
That’s funny, I literally bought a CX-90 PHEV YESTERDAY over the Grand Highlander.
Other than not being a Toyota, the Mazda CX-90 checks all of those boxes, plus it’s pretty decent to drive, is pretty handsome, and has an 8-speed gearbox with paddle shifters! I need to try using those in EV mode…
Mazda is having crazy lease incentives on the CX-90s. I’ve never leased before, but they offered $15k off MSRP in my area for a lease, putting the total cost for a brand new one (assuming I buy it at the end) cheaper than the CPO ones in my area.
The third row is definitely useable for adults. I’m 6’1″ and fit back there fine, though headroom was getting a bit snug. Plenty of legroom though.
I agree on the car itself, but I keep hearing anecdotal horror stories from friends I know with Hyundai/Kias. The cars themselves are well liked, but the dealing with the service on them has been a nightmare.
I had to take my hyundai into the dealership for a diagnostic. they told me it would be over a MONTH before they were able to look at it. The warranty is not good for anything if they aren’t even able to get your car repaired in any sort of timely manner.
You need a new dealer.
yep thats why i’m not doing Hyundai or kia again. I actually was a genuine fan of their products. Until i bought one!
Smart move. Mazda makes great vehicles.
You should probably stop arguing against it, then.
But, you got paid for this article about how wrong you are. This is a sweet gig. For you. (“BLAYAAAMM!” — Bitch Pudding)
You should start complaining about why they make too few Toyota Highlanders if they are in this much demand, instead of trying to get people to buy cars they will give up on in three years, cuz the loaner they get from the dealer is better.