When I read Joel Stocksdale’s first drive of the 2024 Grand Highlander, I was intrigued by Toyota’s proposition here. It’s bigger than the Highlander, with a third row that can actually fit people. I nearly sprained my ankles trying to fit into the way-back of the standard Highlander when the fourth generation launched for the 2020 model year. Naturally, I was curious about this Grand version. When one landed in my driveway to aid in the creation of an upcoming buying guide, I had the chance to answer one of my burning questions: How grand are the cupholders?
And, boy, this thing has a lot of spots to place your beverages. There are two between the seats of each of the first two rows, one in each door pocket and three in each of the outboard armrests of the third row, for a total of 14. So out we went with our 32-ounce Nalgene — a poor fit for most cupholders — to see if any of those spots would swallow it.
First, there are the two front cupholders on the center console. They’re each just a little too small for a bottle of this size. But look at that little cubby just ahead of them. It’s not exactly shaped like a cupholder, but, I thought, it might do the trick.
It’s a great fit, deep and tight enough that the bottle doesn’t clonk around in there during driving. It sort of blocks the cubby in front of it (where the wireless charging pad is, but my phone clonked around in that cubby so much that I just ended up putting it back in my pocket). Otherwise it’s a great spot, and it brings the total number of cupholders up to 15.
Next, there’s the front door pocket. These spots are often deceiving, but it didn’t look quite like the Nalgene would fit.
But it fits just swell, if a little on the tight side. That’s two convenient spots for the driver, and three total up front. That comes in handy on road trips. I can easily go through 64 ounces between pit stops, or it provides easy access to a spare from which the front passenger can refill sippy cups for the thirsty kids a row back. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised how much water my kids can drink.
There’s a set of cupholders between the captain’s chairs in the second row. They’re oriented like the ones up front, fore/aft, but are rounder. Let’s find out if they’re any bigger. (Fascinating side note, the last-gen Toyota Tundra couldn’t fit Nalgenes in the front cupholders, but could in the rear. I haven’t tested the new Tundra yet.)
Alas, that’s not the case here, but there’s still hope for the doors.
It fits. If you’re keeping score, that’s at least one Nalgene receptacle for each seat so far. But we mustn’t forget the third row passengers, and hopefully Toyota didn’t forget them either.
The third-row armrests have these neat cupholders that can be used as sort of a catch-all storage spot. They are divided into three sections, with some extra space to spare. Theoretically, you could fill those cupholder spots, and still tuck a phone in beside them. They really don’t look like any of them will accommodate a Nalgene, though.
In the video below, you can hear my genuine shock that the Nalgene actually fit in that rearward section of the cupholder.
So out of a potential 15 spots to hold a drink, there are seven that will hold these big water bottles. Every outboard passenger has one. I’m thoroughly impressed. And thirsty.
