2024 Toyota Grand Highlander vs 2024 Subaru Outback

The 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander was a standout in Toyota's lineup of crossovers and SUVs, positioned between the Highlander and the Sequoia. Built on the TNGA-K platform, it shared its underpinnings with the regular Highlander, RAV4, Sienna, and Camry, distinguishing itself from the body-on-frame Sequoia. The Grand Highlander was notably large, measuring 201.4 inches in length with a 116.1-inch wheelbase, offering a spacious interior. Its design was more conservative and blocky compared to the smaller Highlander, drawing inspiration from rugged vehicles like the Ford Explorer and Kia Telluride. The Grand Highlander was available in three trims: XLE, Limited, and Platinum, with interior options ranging from Softex synthetic leather to real leather in higher trims. It featured a 10-way power-adjustable driver seat, heated front seats, and a large center console, making it a comfortable and well-built road-trip vehicle.

The 2024 Subaru Outback maintained its familiar look, with the Wilderness trim receiving a new front fascia and LED fog lights. The Outback's design featured dark gray cladding that contrasted with the Autumn Green Metallic color, giving it an appealing appearance. Different trims offered varying levels of black and chrome exterior fittings, with tasteful chrome accents on the Touring trim. The interior of the top-trim Outback was impressive, featuring Java Brown Nappa leather upholstery. The Outback Limited had standard leather seating, while the Onyx Edition and Wilderness trims used Subaru's StarTex synthetic leather. The base and Premium trims came with cloth seats. Overall, the Outback's interior was more luxurious than expected from a brand known for capability.

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 lb-ft 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, a 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder hybrid, generated 362 combined net horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque. Both gas and hybrid engines were available with FWD and AWD, while the Hybrid Max was AWD only. The Hybrid Max offered impressive acceleration with a 0-60 time of 6.3 seconds. The Grand Highlander was expected to account for 85% of sales with the standard turbo gas engine. While it had solid brakes and adequate acceleration, its size made it less maneuverable, and the steering feel was somewhat numb. The Grand Highlander featured three drive modes: Sport, Eco, and Normal, with additional modes for AWD-equipped models.

The 2024 Subaru Outback was powered by a "Boxer" horizontally opposed engine. The base engine was a 2.5-liter flat-four producing 182 horsepower and 176 lb-ft of torque. The XT trims, including the Wilderness, featured a 2.4-liter turbocharged boxer four-cylinder engine with 260 horsepower and 277 lb-ft of torque, increasing towing capacity to 3,500 lbs. Subaru's Symmetrical AWD and a Lineartronic CVT were standard. The turbo powertrain was a good fit for the Outback, providing better weight management. The CVT imitated eight distinct gears, and the brake pedal felt responsive. The Outback offered a comfortable ride, thanks to its suspension and reasonably sized wheels. The Wilderness trim had 9.2 inches of ground clearance and all-terrain tires, with an advanced X-Mode for off-road adventures.

The 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander was larger than its primary rivals, measuring 201.4 inches in length with a 116.1-inch wheelbase. It offered a total cargo capacity of 97.5 cubic feet, surpassing the Kia Telluride. With seats in position, it provided 57.9 cubic feet behind the second row and 20.6 cubic feet with all three rows up. The Grand Highlander was spacious and comfortable, with ample head, leg, and shoulder room in every row. Even the third row accommodated six-foot adults comfortably.

The Subaru Outback, despite its sleeker proportions, offered impressive interior space. It had more front headroom than the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, and slightly less rear headroom than the RAV4. The Outback provided more front-row legroom than both models and surpassed the RAV4 in rear-seat legroom. Its cargo area measured 32.6 cubic feet with all seats in place and 75.6 cubic feet with the rear seats folded. The Outback featured dual-zone climate control, heated front seats, and a power-adjustable driver's seat starting with the Premium trim. Heated rear seats and a powered front passenger seat were available on the Limited trim. The Outback also offered a hands-free power liftgate and a power moonroof on higher trims.

The 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander came with a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system, a significant improvement over previous interfaces. An intelligent assistant, activated by saying "Hey Toyota," was available via 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, Sirius XM satellite radio, and Wi-Fi Connect were available through subscriptions.

The 2024 Subaru Outback Touring featured an 11.6-inch portrait-oriented infotainment screen, while the base trim retained a dual-7-inch-screen system. The Subaru Starlink multimedia platform offered standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, with wireless capability starting with the Premium trim. Climate controls were managed through the touchscreen, with hard buttons for defoggers and temperature adjustments. Wi-Fi capability was available on all but the base trim. Bluetooth, HD Radio, and SiriusXM connectivity were standard, with a 12-speaker Harman Kardon premium audio system on most trims.

The 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander had not yet been crash-tested by the NHTSA or IIHS. However, it came with Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 (TSS 3.0) as standard, including automatic emergency braking, lane-departure alert with steering assist, 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.

The 2024 Subaru Outback earned a Top Safety Pick award from the IIHS and received a five-star overall rating from the NHTSA. The EyeSight suite of advanced driver-assistance technologies was standard, including adaptive cruise control with lane-centering, automatic pre-collision braking, lane-keep assist, and automatic emergency steering. Blind-spot monitoring with lane-change assist and rear cross-traffic alert were standard on the Onyx Edition. The Touring trim featured a wide-angle camera, digital rearview mirror, and driver-attention monitor.