The Toyota Grand Highlander was never accused of not having any personality with the three-row SUV attempting to show buyers a more rugged alternative to the standard Highlander.

But what if you’re looking for a more sinister vibe and want some darkened accents to make your family vehicle more sporty looking? The Grand Highlander Nightshade attempts to scratch that itch but does it really work in the grand scheme of things?

The Nightshade projects a sporty image

The Grand Highlander’s transformation into a Nightshade will be very familiar for buyers who may have experienced other Nightshade models in the past. Just like those models, the Grand Highlander gets an extra infusion of darkened accents with our tester getting blacked-out wheels, badging, and mirror caps. Other than these changes, the Grand Highlander is otherwise mostly unchanged.

But there’s a flaw

The Nightshade treatment has always worked best with certain colors and our tester was a classic example of how color choice plays a role in achieving the broader presentation. Instead of a bright red or even a dark blue hue, our tester arrived with a coat of non-descript gray paint. While it made the black accents stand out more, it also made it lose of some of the Nightshade’s typically sporty character.

Grand Highlander interior continues to deliver the goods

The interior of the Grand Highlander Nightshade continues to be a very comfortable place to spend time in. The cabin is not as rich as a more opulent Hybrid Max model, but the standard Hybrid’s cabin still checks off plenty of the essentials with good interior quality, comfortable seats, and a sensible easy to master control layout.

The Nightshade treatments here are less obvious, but the darkened interior color scheme did prove to be a magnet for fingerprints, smudges, and stains. Cargo capacity continues to be a strong suit and second and third row passengers will be pleased with the amount of room they get inside.

A 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system is standard on every Grand Highlander but lesser trims get a 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster. Nightshade and other higher trims swap it out for a larger 12.3-inch unit. The 11-speaker JBL premium audio system in our tester sounded great and the Grand Highlander also gets an extensive suite of safety equipment to help keep everyone safe especially in the event of an accident.

Sluggish performance

Unlike the Hybrid Max equipped variants, models like the Nightshade are powered by a 2.5 liter four-cylinder that’s paired with two electric motors to produce a combined system output of 245 hp. But while this is a decent amount of power, it’s anything but fast with our tester needing a sluggish 7.8 seconds to make the sprint to 60 mph.

A CVT is the lone transmission available, and is clearly tuned for efficiency versus outright performance with this tendency showing up in its fuel economy numbers with the EPA saying a Grand Highlander equipped with the 2.5 liter can get 37/34/36 mpg in city/freeway/ combined driving. These figures are among the best in its segment, and allow this version of the Grand Highlander to be a very underrated pick for budget minded buyers.

Value Quotient

Pricing for the Nightshade model puts it in the figurative middle of the Grand Highlander family with a base Nightshade starting at $53,690. This pricing puts it just below a range-topping Platinum and allows it to fit snugly between it and the Limited Hybrid.

This pricing is also very competitive for the segment, but while its strong suite of safety features and functionality allow the Grand Highlander to occupy a very unique niche for itself in the marketplace, the so-so driving dynamics cause the GR to fall behind some rivals. However, if you’re willing to ignore all that and focus on the Nightshade’s unique perspective, this flavor of Grand Highlander might be the perfect fit for your budget.