2023 Subaru Forester vs 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander

The 2023 Subaru Forester, despite its familiar and somewhat unremarkable exterior, offered a practical and functional design. Its Cascade Green Silica paint was reminiscent of many Foresters from the past, contributing to its understated appearance. The Forester's design was characterized by its boxy shape, flared fenders, and pincer-shaped lighting, which, while not particularly attractive, served its purpose. The Touring trim, with its 18-inch alloy wheels and satin chrome exterior trim, was considered the most visually appealing of the lineup. Inside, the Forester Touring featured Saddle Brown leather, exposed stitching, and metallic accents, creating a traditional Subaru interior with analog gauges and an 8-inch touchscreen. The cabin's hard plastic surfaces made it easy to clean, and the control layout, with its reliance on buttons and knobs, was user-friendly.

In contrast, the 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander was a larger and more spacious vehicle, built on the TNGA-K platform. Its design was more conservative and blocky, drawing inspiration from rugged vehicles like the Ford Explorer and Kia Telluride. The Grand Highlander featured a trapezoidal grille and narrow headlights, giving it a resemblance to the Toyota 4Runner. Inside, the Grand Highlander offered a choice of Softex synthetic leather or real leather upholstery, depending on the trim level. The Platinum trim even offered Portobello (brown) upholstery. The interior was designed for comfort, with a 10-way power-adjustable driver seat, heated front seats, and a large center console. The second-row captain's chairs and built-in step made accessing the third row easier. Overall, the Grand Highlander excelled as a comfortable and well-built road-trip vehicle, with high-quality materials and seamless fit and finish.

The 2023 Subaru Forester was equipped with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine producing 182 horsepower and 176 pound-feet of torque, paired with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) that mimicked a traditional automatic. The Forester offered a Sport driving mode through its Subaru Intelligent Drive (SI-Drive) system, enhancing its responsiveness. Most trims, except the Base, featured an X-Mode off-road traction management system with various driving modes. The Forester Wilderness trim was particularly capable off-road. During testing, the Forester Touring handled challenging weather conditions in Southern California with confidence, showcasing its excellent driving dynamics. While the engine was adequate, it was not particularly powerful, and the Forester's fuel economy fell short of expectations, returning 25.9 mpg compared to the EPA rating of 29 mpg.

The 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander offered three engine options. The base engine was a 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder producing 265 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque. A 2.5-liter four-cylinder hybrid option delivered 245 combined net horsepower and 177 lb-ft of torque. The top-tier Hybrid Max powertrain combined a 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with electric motors, producing 362 combined net horsepower and 400 combined net lb-ft of torque. The Grand Highlander was available with front-wheel drive (FWD) and all-wheel drive (AWD), with the Hybrid Max exclusively AWD. The Hybrid Max offered impressive acceleration, with a 0-60 mph time of 6.3 seconds. The Grand Highlander's size made it less maneuverable than its smaller sibling, the Highlander, but its brakes were solid, and acceleration was adequate. The vehicle featured three drive modes—Sport, Eco, and Normal—with additional off-road modes for AWD models.

The 2023 Subaru Forester prioritized function over form, offering a practical and straightforward design. The Premium trim provided features like a panoramic sunroof, power-adjustable driver's seat, and heated front seats. Higher trims offered StarTex artificial leather or genuine leather upholstery, dual-zone climate control, and heated rear seats. The Forester's high seating position and large windows provided excellent visibility, making it easy to drive and park. However, the panoramic sunroof's lack of tinting could lead to solar heating, and the rear seats were less comfortable for taller adults. Interior storage was plentiful, with well-sealed doors and a usefully shaped cargo area. The Forester offered 26.9 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats, expanding to 69.1 cubic feet with the seats folded.

The 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander was larger and more spacious than its competitors, with a total cargo capacity of 97.5 cubic feet. It offered 57.9 cubic feet of space behind the second-row seats and 20.6 cubic feet with all three rows in use. The Grand Highlander's interior was designed for comfort, with ample headroom, legroom, and shoulder room in all rows. Its large greenhouse provided good visibility, and the third row could accommodate a six-foot adult comfortably. The Grand Highlander was a practical choice for those seeking a spacious and comfortable vehicle.

The 2023 Subaru Forester featured a 6.5-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto. The Premium trim added satellite radio, HD Radio, and Starlink connected services. An 8-inch touchscreen was available, along with a navigation system and Harman Kardon audio. The Forester's older Starlink infotainment system was user-friendly, with separate climate controls and easy-to-use knobs and buttons. However, the voice-recognition system was unreliable, making Apple CarPlay or Android Auto a better choice for navigation and voice commands.

The 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander came with a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system, offering a visually stunning interface. An intelligent assistant, activated by saying "Hey Toyota," was available through a connected-services subscription, along with cloud-based navigation and live agent assistance. Standard features included dual-device Bluetooth connectivity, wireless Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto. The Limited and Platinum trims featured an 11-speaker JBL stereo. Streaming audio integration and Sirius XM satellite radio were available, with additional subscription options for Wi-Fi Connect and music services.

The 2023 Subaru Forester featured the next-generation EyeSight system, offering improved driving assistance and collision avoidance technologies. It included automatic emergency steering, blind-spot monitoring, and rear automatic braking (RAB) on higher trims. The Forester earned a Top Safety Pick rating from the IIHS, with an Acceptable rating in side-impact protection and a Marginal rating in small-overlap frontal-impact tests. The NHTSA awarded the Forester five-star crash-test ratings and a four-star rollover resistance rating.

The 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander had not yet been crash-tested by the NHTSA or IIHS. However, it came standard with Toyota Safety Sense 3.0, which included automatic emergency braking, lane-departure alert, lane-tracing assist, road-sign recognition, and blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert. Adaptive cruise control with four following-distance settings was also standard.