Compare the2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee LVS 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander

For enhanced safety, the front and middle seat shoulder belts of the Jeep Grand Cherokee L are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Toyota Grand Highlander doesn’t offer height-adjustable middle seat belts.

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 Grand Cherokee L are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Grand Highlander doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee L 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 Grand Highlander doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the Grand Cherokee L Overland/Summit helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The Grand Highlander doesn’t offer a night vision system.

Both the Grand Cherokee L 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, 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive, around view monitors and driver alert monitors.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Grand Cherokee L its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 36 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Grand Highlander has not been tested, yet.

Jeep pays for scheduled maintenance (up to 3 visits) on the Grand Cherokee L for 1 year and unlimited miles longer than Toyota pays for maintenance for the Grand Highlander (3/unlimited vs. 2/25000).

There are almost 2 times as many Jeep dealers as there are Toyota dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Grand Cherokee L’s warranty.

The battery on the Grand Cherokee L is under the seat, which protects it from hot underhood temperatures that can degrade battery life. By keeping the Grand Cherokee L’s battery 20 to 30 degrees cooler, its life is increased by years. The Grand Highlander’s battery is in the hot engine compartment.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Jeep vehicles are better in initial quality than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Jeep above average in initial quality. With 3 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is rated below average.

The Grand Cherokee L has more powerful engines than the Grand Highlander:

As tested in Motor Trend the Jeep Grand Cherokee L V6 is faster than the Toyota Grand Highlander turbo 4 cyl.:

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Grand Cherokee L V8’s fuel efficiency. The Grand Highlander doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Grand Cherokee L V6’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.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Jeep Grand Cherokee L uses regular unleaded gasoline (mid-grade octane recommended with the 5.7 V8 engine for maximum performance). The Grand Highlander Hybrid Max requires premium, which can cost on average about 31.4 cents more per gallon.

The Grand Cherokee L has 5.8 gallons more fuel capacity than the Grand Highlander Hybrid’s standard fuel tank (23 vs. 17.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Grand Cherokee L has 5.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the Grand Highlander’s standard fuel tank (23 vs. 17.8 gallons).

The Grand Cherokee L 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 Grand Highlander doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

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

The Grand Cherokee L’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 Grand Cherokee L stops shorter than the Grand Highlander:

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Grand Cherokee L Summit offers optional 21-inch wheels. The Grand Highlander’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

The Grand Cherokee L 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 Grand Highlander doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Grand Cherokee L offers an optional full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the Grand Highlander; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

The Grand Cherokee L 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 Grand Highlander’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

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

The Grand Cherokee L 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 a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Grand Cherokee L’s wheelbase is 5.6 inches longer than on the Grand Highlander (121.7 inches vs. 116.1 inches).

The Grand Cherokee L Overland 4x4 handles at .82 G’s, while the Grand Highlander Limited AWD pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Grand Cherokee L Overland 4x4 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Grand Highlander Platinum AWD (27.3 seconds @ .61 average G’s vs. 27.8 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Grand Cherokee L Laredo/Limited has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Grand Highlander (8.5 vs. 8 inches), allowing the Grand Cherokee L to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Grand Cherokee L Overland/Summit’s minimum ground clearance is 2.9 inches higher than on the Grand Highlander (10.9 vs. 8 inches).

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

The Grand Cherokee L 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.

The Grand Cherokee L has 5.8 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Grand Highlander (159.1 vs. 153.3).

The Grand Cherokee L has .9 inches more front hip room and .1 inches more third row headroom than the Grand Highlander.

Pressing a button automatically lowers the Grand Cherokee L Overland/Summit’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.

Maximum trailer towing in the Toyota Grand Highlander is limited to 5000 pounds. The Grand Cherokee L 4x4 offers up to a 7200 lbs. towing capacity.

The Grand Cherokee L 4WD with optional equipment can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Grand Cherokee L can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Grand Highlander can’t be towed flat on the ground.

The Grand Cherokee L 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 Grand Cherokee L 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.

Unlike the driver-only memory seat and mirrors in the Grand Highlander Limited/Platinum, the Grand Cherokee L Limited/Overland/Summit offers an optional passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position (with optional power wheel adjuster), outside mirror angle and radio stations and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The Grand Cherokee L Limited/Overland/Summit’s standard easy entry system raises the steering wheel and 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 Grand Highlander doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The Grand Cherokee L’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The Grand Highlander does not have an oil pressure gauge.

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

The Grand Cherokee L Limited/Overland/Summit’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 Grand Cherokee L Overland Lux Tech/Summit has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Grand Highlander.

The Grand Cherokee L Summit’s Parallel and Perpendicular Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The Grand Highlander doesn’t offer an automated parking system.