Compare the2025 Ford ExplorerVS 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander

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 Explorer 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 Ford Explorer 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.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Explorer has standard Cross Traffic Alert with Cross Traffic 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 Explorer and the Grand Highlander have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors, 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 Ford Explorer is safer than the Grand Highlander:

The Ford Explorer 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.

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

The Explorer 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 Grand 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 rated the Explorer second among midsize suvs in their 2024 Initial Quality Study. The Grand Highlander isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Ford vehicles are better in initial quality than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in initial quality. With 13 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is rated lower.

The Explorer has more powerful engines than the Grand Highlander:

As tested in Motor Trend the Ford Explorer is faster than the Toyota Grand Highlander:

On the EPA test cycle the Explorer 2.3 turbo 4-cylinder 4WD gets better fuel mileage than the Grand Highlander Limited/Platinum 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder 8-speed Auto AWD (20 city/27 hwy vs. 20 city/26 hwy).

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Explorer’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 Ford Explorer uses regular unleaded gasoline (premium recommended for maximum performance). The Grand Highlander Hybrid Max requires premium, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

The Explorer V6 Turbo’s standard fuel tank has 2.4 gallons more fuel capacity than the Grand Highlander’s standard fuel tank (20.2 vs. 17.8 gallons).

The Explorer 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 10-speed automatic is standard on the Ford Explorer, 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 Explorer’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Grand Highlander:

The Explorer ST’s optional 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 Explorer stops much shorter than the Grand Highlander:

For better traction, the Explorer’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Grand Highlander (275/45R21 vs. 255/65R18).

The Explorer’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Grand Highlander Limited/Platinum’s 55 series tires.

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

Having a flat tire is dangerous, inconvenient and expensive. The self-sealing tires available on the Explorer 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 Explorer 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.

The Explorer’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 Explorer’s wheelbase is 3 inches longer than on the Grand Highlander (119.1 inches vs. 116.1 inches).

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

The Explorer ST 4WD 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 Explorer ST 4WD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2.2 seconds quicker than the Grand Highlander XLE AWD (26.4 seconds @ .72 average G’s vs. 28.6 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Explorer Platinum has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Grand Highlander (8.2 vs. 8 inches), allowing the Explorer to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The front grille of the Explorer 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.

As tested by Car and Driver while cruising at 70 MPH, the interior of the Explorer Active 4WD is quieter than the Grand Highlander Platinum AWD (66 vs. 67 dB).

The Explorer has 1.3 inches more front legroom, 2.7 inches more front hip room, 1.6 inches more front shoulder room, .3 inches more rear headroom, 2.1 inches more rear hip room, 3.1 inches more rear shoulder room and 1.7 inches more third row headroom than the Grand Highlander.

The Explorer has a standard third row seat which folds 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 button automatically lowers or raises the Explorer’s (except Active) optional third row seats, to make changing between cargo and passengers easier. The Grand Highlander doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

While the Grand Highlander Hybrid can only tow 3500, any Explorer can tow a minimum of 5000 pounds.

The engine in the Explorer 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 Explorer (except Active)’s optional 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.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Explorer’s available exterior PIN entry system. The Grand Highlander doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

The Explorer’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 Explorer’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 Explorer (except Active) 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 Ford Explorer outsold the Toyota Grand Highlander by almost four to one during 2023.