Compare the2023 Lincoln AviatorVS 2022 Toyota Highlander

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Lincoln Aviator have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Toyota Highlander doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

Both the Aviator and Highlander have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Aviator has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Highlander’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Lincoln Aviator has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Highlander doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The Aviator 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 Aviator 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 Aviator and the Highlander have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, 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 Lincoln Aviator is safer than the Toyota Highlander:

	Aviator	Highlander
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	125	292
Neck Injury Risk	26.3%	38.2%
Neck Stress	167 lbs.	347 lbs.
Neck Compression	26 lbs.	55 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	230/210 lbs.	321/243 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	318	328
Chest Compression	.4 inches	.6 inches
Leg Forces (l/r)	380/405 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 Lincoln Aviator is safer than the Toyota Highlander:

	Aviator	Highlander
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	224 lbs.	300 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	86	114
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	12 inches	15 inches
HIC	288	366
Spine Acceleration	39 G’s	41 G’s
Hip Force	573 lbs.	664 lbs.

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

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Aviator is 1.3% to 2.2% less likely to roll over than the Highlander.

Warranty

The Aviator comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck. The Highlander’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

Lincoln’s powertrain warranty covers the Aviator 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Toyota covers the Highlander. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 6 years or 70,000 miles. Coverage on the Highlander ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

Reliability

The Lincoln Aviator’s engines use a cast iron block for durability, while the Highlander’s engine uses an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

The Aviator has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Highlander doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Lincoln vehicles are better in initial quality than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Lincoln above average in initial quality. With 5 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is rated lower.

Engine

The Aviator’s standard 3.0 turbo V6 produces 105 more horsepower (400 vs. 295) and 152 lbs.-ft. more torque (415 vs. 263) than the Highlander’s 3.5 DOHC V6. The Aviator Grand Touring’s standard 3.0 turbo V6 hybrid produces 199 more horsepower (494 vs. 295) and 367 lbs.-ft. more torque (630 vs. 263) than the Highlander’s 3.5 DOHC V6.

As tested in Motor Trend the Lincoln Aviator turbo V6 is faster than the Toyota Highlander:

	Aviator	Highlander
Zero to 60 MPH	5.4 sec	7.4 sec
Quarter Mile	14.1 sec	15.7 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	97.7 MPH	90.7 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Aviator running on electricity gets better mileage than the Highlander:

			MPGe
Aviator
	AWD	Grand Touring Electric Motor	54 city/58 hwy
Highlander
			MPG
	FWD	3.5 DOHC V6	21 city/29 hwy
	AWD	3.5 DOHC V6	20 city/27 hwy

The Aviator Grand Touring can travel with zero emissions for 21 miles. The Highlander can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

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

The Aviator’s standard fuel tank has 2.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the Highlander (20.2 vs. 17.9 gallons).

The Aviator 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.

Transmission

A 10-speed automatic is standard on the Lincoln Aviator, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Highlander.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Aviator’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Highlander:

	Aviator	Highlander
Front Rotors	13.6 inches	13.3 inches
Rear Rotors	13.8 inches	13.3 inches

The Aviator stops shorter than the Highlander:

	Aviator	Highlander
60 to 0 MPH	119 feet	127 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Aviator has larger standard tires than the Highlander (255/60R19 vs. 235/65R18). The Aviator’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Highlander (275/40R22 vs. 235/65R18).

The Aviator’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Highlander L/LE/XLE’s standard 65 series tires. The Aviator’s optional tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Highlander XSE/Limited/Platinum’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Aviator has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Highlander L/LE/XLE. The Aviator’s optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels on the Highlander XSE/Limited/Platinum.

Suspension and Handling

The Aviator 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 Aviator has a standard automatic front and rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Aviator’s height leveling suspension allows the driver to raise ride height for better off-road clearance and then lower it again for easier entering and exiting and better on-road handling. The Highlander doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

The Aviator offers optional vehicle speed sensitive 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.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Aviator’s wheelbase is 6.9 inches longer than on the Highlander (119.1 inches vs. 112.2 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Aviator is 1.6 inches wider in the front and 1.5 inches wider in the rear than on the Highlander.

The Aviator’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (51% to 49%) than the Highlander’s (55% to 45%). This gives the Aviator more stable handling and braking.

The Aviator Grand Touring AWD handles at .83 G’s, while the Highlander Platinum AWD pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Aviator Grand Touring AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.2 seconds quicker than the Highlander Platinum AWD (26.5 seconds @ .72 average G’s vs. 27.7 seconds @ .61 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Aviator has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Highlander (8.7 vs. 8 inches), allowing the Aviator to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Chassis

The front grille of the Aviator 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 Aviator (except Standard) offers available 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 Aviator has 3.4 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Highlander (144.7 vs. 141.3).

The Aviator has .3 inches more front headroom, 1 inch more front legroom, 1.3 inches more front hip room, 2.5 inches more front shoulder room, .3 inches more rear headroom, 1.3 inches more rear hip room, 2.6 inches more rear shoulder room, .8 inches more third row headroom and 1.5 inches more third row legroom than the Highlander.

Cargo Capacity

The Aviator’s cargo area provides more volume than the Highlander.

	Aviator	Highlander
Behind Third Seat	18.3 cubic feet	16 cubic feet

Pressing a button automatically lowers the Aviator’s second row seats and pressing a button automatically lowers or raises the third row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Highlander doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

Towing

The Aviator’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Highlander’s (5600 vs. 5000 pounds).

Servicing Ease

The Aviator 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.

The engine in the Aviator is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Highlander. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because there are no rear spark plugs and the accessory belts are in front.

Ergonomics

The Aviator’s standard easy entry system raises the steering wheel and glides the driver’s seat back, 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 Aviator’s exterior PIN entry system. The Highlander doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

The Aviator’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Highlander’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Aviator’s standard rear and 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.

Optional air conditioned front and second row seats keep the Aviator’s passengers comfortable and take the sting out of hot leather in summer. The Highlander doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

The Aviator (except Standard) offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Highlander.

The Aviator (except Standard)’s optional Active Park Assist Plus can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Highlander doesn’t offer an automated parking system.