Compare the2024 Genesis GV80VS 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander

Both the GV80 and Grand Highlander have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The GV80 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 Grand 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.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the GV80 are reminded to check the back seat when a sensor determines the back seat is occupied. The Grand Highlander doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The GV80 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 Grand Highlander doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the GV80. But it costs extra on the Grand Highlander.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the GV80 has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist with automatic braking, systems which detect vehicles approaching from the sides and can automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. Only the Grand Highlander Limited/Platinum offers Parking Support Brake.

Both the GV80 and the Grand Highlander have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

A significantly tougher test than their original offset frontal crash test, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH small overlap frontal offset crash tests. In this test, where only 25% of the total width of the vehicle is struck, results indicate that the Genesis GV80 is safer than the Grand Highlander:

The Genesis GV80 (built after August 2023) has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2024 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and an “Acceptable” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Grand Highlander is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.

The GV80 comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes free 24-hour roadside assistance. The Grand Highlander’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Genesis’ powertrain warranty covers the GV80 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Toyota covers the Grand Highlander. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Grand Highlander ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The GV80’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Grand Highlander’s (7 vs. 5 years).

Genesis pays for scheduled maintenance on the GV80 for 1 year and 11000 miles longer than Toyota pays for maintenance for the Grand Highlander (3/36,000 vs. 2/25000).

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Genesis vehicles are better in initial quality than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Genesis above average in initial quality. With 18 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Genesis vehicles are more reliable than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Genesis fourth in reliability, above the industry average. With 3 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is ranked fifth.

The GV80 has more powerful engines than the Grand Highlander:

As tested in Motor Trend the Genesis GV80 is faster than the Toyota Grand Highlander:

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the GV80’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. The Grand Highlander doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

The GV80 has 3.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the Grand Highlander Hybrid’s standard fuel tank (21.1 vs. 17.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The GV80 has 3.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the Grand Highlander’s standard fuel tank (21.1 vs. 17.8 gallons).

For better stopping power the GV80’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Grand Highlander:

The GV80’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Grand Highlander are solid, not vented.

The GV80 stops much shorter than the Grand Highlander:

For better traction, the GV80 has larger tires than the Grand Highlander (265/40R22 vs. 255/65R18).

The GV80’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Grand Highlander XLE’s 65 series tires. The GV80’s optional tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Grand Highlander Limited/Platinum’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the GV80 has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Grand Highlander XLE. The GV80’s optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels on the Grand Highlander Limited/Platinum.

The GV80 offers an optional 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 Grand Highlander’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The GV80 offers an optional automatic rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Grand Highlander doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

The GV80 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 Grand Highlander doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the GV80 is .6 inches wider in the front and 1.1 inches wider in the rear than on the Grand Highlander.

The GV80 Prestige handles at .86 G’s, while the Grand Highlander Platinum AWD pulls only .80 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The GV80 Prestige executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.7 seconds quicker than the Grand Highlander XLE AWD (26.9 seconds @ .65 average G’s vs. 28.6 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the GV80 has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Grand Highlander (8.1 vs. 8 inches), allowing the GV80 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The GV80 is 6.7 inches shorter than the Grand Highlander, making the GV80 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The GV80 Prestige uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Grand Highlander doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Pressing a button automatically lowers the GV80’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 Grand Highlander doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The GV80’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Grand Highlander’s (6000 vs. 5000 pounds).

While the Grand Highlander Hybrid can only tow 3500, any GV80 can tow a minimum of 6000 pounds.

The GV80 uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Grand 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 GV80 is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Grand Highlander. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

The GV80’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 Grand Highlander doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The GV80’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 Grand Highlander’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The GV80’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 Grand Highlander has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The GV80 has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel is only available on the Grand Highlander Limited/Platinum.

The GV80 offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Grand Highlander.

The GV80’s optional Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Optional Remote Smart Parking Assist will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Grand Highlander doesn’t offer an automated parking system.