Compare the2023 Audi A4 AllroadVS 2022 Toyota Highlander

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Audi A4 Allroad 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.

The A4 Allroad’s 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.

Both the A4 Allroad and Highlander have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The A4 Allroad 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 Audi A4 Allroad 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.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the A4 Allroad. But it costs extra on the Highlander.

Both the A4 Allroad 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, plastic fuel tanks, 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, available blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Audi A4 Allroad is safer than the Toyota Highlander:

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

The A4 Allroad comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire car and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Highlander’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The A4 Allroad’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the Highlander’s (12 vs. 5 years).

The Audi A4 Allroad’s engine uses 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 A4 Allroad’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 10 lbs.-ft. more torque (273 vs. 263) than the Highlander’s 3.5 DOHC V6.

On the EPA test cycle the A4 Allroad gets better mileage than the Highlander:

The A4 Allroad offers a standard sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The Highlander doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

The A4 Allroad’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s precisely in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The Highlander doesn’t offer launch control.

The A4 Allroad stops shorter than the Highlander:

For better traction, the A4 Allroad has larger tires than the Highlander (245/45R18 vs. 235/65R18).

The A4 Allroad’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Highlander L/LE/XLE’s standard 65 series tires. The A4 Allroad’s tires are lower profile than the Highlander XSE/Limited/Platinum’s 55 series tires.

The A4 Allroad has a standard 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. The Highlander’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The A4 Allroad has 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.

The A4 Allroad Premium Plus handles at .81 G’s, while the Highlander Platinum AWD pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The A4 Allroad Premium Plus executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.4 seconds quicker than the Highlander Platinum AWD (26.3 seconds @ .69 average G’s vs. 27.7 seconds @ .61 average G’s).

The Audi A4 Allroad may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 300 to 600 pounds less than the Toyota Highlander.

The A4 Allroad is 7.4 inches shorter than the Highlander, making the A4 Allroad easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The A4 Allroad is 9.3 inches shorter in height than the Highlander, making the A4 Allroad much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

The A4 Allroad has a much larger cargo volume than the Highlander with its rear seat up (24.2 vs. 16 cubic feet).

A low lift-over trunk design makes loading and unloading the A4 Allroad easier. The A4 Allroad’s trunk lift-over height is 26.1 inches, while the Highlander’s liftover is 31.2 inches.

Pulling a handle automatically lowers the A4 Allroad’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Highlander doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The A4 Allroad 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 A4 Allroad 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.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Audi service is better than Toyota. J.D. Power ranks Audi 8th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 17% lower rating, Toyota is ranked 20th.

The A4 Allroad’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.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the A4 Allroad to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Highlander doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The A4 Allroad Prestige has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Highlander doesn’t offer headlight washers.

The A4 Allroad’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.

The A4 Allroad Prestige’s Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The Highlander doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Audi A4 Allroad and the Toyota Highlander, based on reliability, safety and performance.