Compare the2024 Chrysler PacificaVS 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander

For enhanced safety, the front and middle seat shoulder belts of the Chrysler Pacifica 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 Pacifica 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 Chrysler Pacifica 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.

Earlier warning of stopped traffic, traffic signals, dangerous road conditions, weather, or accidents, can keep driver's safer and prevent crashes. The Pacifica offers optional Emergency Vehicle Alert System, a system that seamlessly communicates important warnings to the driver about impending danger, if they're available. The Grand Highlander doesn’t offer a system that can receive automated systems from other vehicles.

Both the Pacifica 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, 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive and 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 Chrysler Pacifica is safer than the Grand Highlander:

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Pacifica the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 98 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Grand Highlander is not a “Top Safety Pick.”

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

As tested in Motor Trend the Pacifica Hybrid 3.6 DOHC V6 hybrid is faster than the Toyota Grand Highlander turbo 4 cyl.:

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

On the EPA test cycle the Pacifica Hybrid running its gasoline engine gets better fuel mileage than the Grand Highlander 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder 8-speed Auto FWD (29 city/30 hwy vs. 21 city/28 hwy).

The Pacifica Hybrid can travel with zero emissions for 32 miles. The Grand Highlander can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Pacifica’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 (not available Hybrid). The Grand Highlander doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Chrysler Pacifica uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Grand Highlander Hybrid Max requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The Pacifica’s standard fuel tank has 1.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the Grand Highlander’s standard fuel tank (19 vs. 17.8 gallons).

The Pacifica 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.

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

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

The Pacifica stops much shorter than the Grand Highlander:

The Pacifica’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Grand Highlander Limited/Platinum’s 55 series tires.

Having a flat tire is dangerous, inconvenient and expensive. The self-sealing tires available on the Pacifica can automatically seal most punctures up to 3/16 of an inch, effectively preventing most flat tires. The Grand Highlander doesn’t offer self-sealing tires.

The Pacifica’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Grand Highlander doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Pacifica’s wheelbase is 5.5 inches longer than on the Grand Highlander (121.6 inches vs. 116.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Pacifica is 3.1 inches wider in the front and 3 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Grand Highlander.

The front grille of the Pacifica 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 Pacifica 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 Pacifica has 11.8 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Grand Highlander (165.1 vs. 153.3).

The Pacifica has 2.5 inches more front hip room, 3.6 inches more front shoulder room, 7.8 inches more rear hip room, 4.2 inches more rear shoulder room, 1.5 inches more third row headroom, 3 inches more third row legroom, 3.8 inches more third row hip room and 3.7 inches more third row shoulder room than the Grand Highlander.

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

The Pacifica has standard Stow ’n Go second and third row seats (except Hybrid for the second row), which fold flat into the floor. This completely clears a very large cargo area quickly. The Grand Highlander doesn’t offer seats that fold into the floor.

Pressing a switch automatically lowers or raises the Pacifica Limited/Pinnacle’s third row seats, to make changing between cargo and passengers easier. The Grand Highlander doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Pacifica Touring L/Limited/Pinnacle’s standard 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 Grand Highlander doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The Pacifica’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 Pacifica’s standard sliding doors can be opened with less than three inches side clearance. The Grand Highlander’s standard rear swing-out doors are bulky and make loading in tight spots difficult.

The Pacifica’s power side sliding doors make it much easier to load and unload kids and cargo. One touch opens the door, before you even get to the van. The Grand Highlander doesn’t offer a power rear door.

The Pacifica’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 Pacifica’s optional 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 Pacifica 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 Pacifica (except Touring)’s optional ParkSense 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.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Chrysler Pacifica, based on reliability, safety and performance.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Pacifica as the 2017 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year. The Grand Highlander has never been chosen.