Compare the2023 GMC AcadiaVS 2022 Toyota Highlander

Safety
Warranty
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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The Acadia Denali’s optional pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Highlander doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

For enhanced safety, the front shoulder belts of the GMC Acadia are height-adjustable, and the middle seat shoulder belts have child comfort guides to move the belt to properly fit children. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages children to buckle up. The Toyota Highlander doesn’t offer comfort guides on its middle seat belts.

The Acadia has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Highlander doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The Acadia has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. Only the Highlander LE/XLE/XSE/Limited/Platinum offers a blind spot warning system.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Acadia has a standard rear cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Only the Highlander LE/XLE/XSE/Limited/Platinum has a rear cross-path warning system.

Both the Acadia and the Highlander have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the GMC Acadia is safer than the Toyota Highlander:

	Acadia	Highlander
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	285	292
Neck Injury Risk	21%	38.2%
Neck Stress	191 lbs.	347 lbs.
Neck Compression	29 lbs.	55 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	129/383 lbs.	321/243 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	319	328
Chest Compression	.6 inches	.6 inches
Leg Forces (l/r)	210/60 lbs.	545/323 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the GMC Acadia is safer than the Toyota Highlander:

	Acadia	Highlander
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	243 lbs.	300 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	14 inches	15 inches
Spine Acceleration	36 G’s	41 G’s

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Warranty

The Acadia’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Highlander’s (6 vs. 5 years).

There are over 34 percent more GMC dealers than there are Toyota dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Acadia’s warranty.

Engine

The Acadia’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 15 more horsepower (310 vs. 295) and 8 lbs.-ft. more torque (271 vs. 263) than the Highlander’s 3.5 DOHC V6.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Acadia gets better mileage than the Highlander:

			MPG
Acadia
	FWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/29 hwy
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/27 hwy
Highlander
	FWD	3.5 DOHC V6	21 city/29 hwy
	AWD	3.5 DOHC V6	20 city/27 hwy

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Acadia’s fuel efficiency. The Highlander doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the Acadia 2.0 Turbo’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Highlander doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

The Acadia FWD’s standard fuel tank has 1.5 gallons more fuel capacity than the Highlander (19.4 vs. 17.9 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Acadia AWD’s standard fuel tank has 3.8 gallons more fuel capacity than the Highlander (21.7 vs. 17.9 gallons).

The Acadia has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Highlander doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the GMC Acadia higher (6 to 7 out of 10) than the Toyota Highlander (5). This means the Acadia produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Highlander every 15,000 miles.

Transmission

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the GMC Acadia, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Highlander.

Brakes and Stopping

The Acadia stops shorter than the Highlander:

	Acadia	Highlander
60 to 0 MPH	126 feet	127 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Acadia AT4’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Highlander (255/65R17 vs. 235/65R18).

The GMC Acadia’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Toyota Highlander only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Acadia has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Highlander doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Suspension and Handling

The Acadia offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The Highlander’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The Acadia has variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Highlander doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

The Acadia SLT AWD handles at .82 G’s, while the Highlander Platinum AWD pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Acadia SLT AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Highlander Platinum AWD (26.9 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 27.7 seconds @ .61 average G’s).

Chassis

The front grille of the Acadia FWD 4 cyl. uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Highlander doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Acadia uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Highlander doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Passenger Space

The Acadia has 2.5 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Highlander (143.8 vs. 141.3).

The Acadia has .4 inches more front shoulder room, .2 inches more rear headroom, 1.1 inches more third row headroom and 2 inches more third row legroom than the Highlander.

Cargo Capacity

Pulling a handle automatically lowers the Acadia’s second row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Highlander doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

Servicing Ease

The Acadia uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Highlander uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

Ergonomics

The Acadia (except SLE)’s optional easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Highlander doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Acadia’s available exterior PIN entry system. The Highlander doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

The Acadia’s speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Highlander’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Acadia SLT/AT4/Denali’s standard rear view mirror and optional side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Highlander offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Acadia is less expensive to operate than the Highlander because typical repairs cost much less on the Acadia than the Highlander, including $126 less for a starter, $148 less for fuel injection, $60 less for a fuel pump and $612 less for a timing belt/chain.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the GMC Acadia and the Toyota Highlander, based on reliability, safety and performance.