Compare the2026 Cadillac VistiqVS 2026 Toyota Grand Highlander

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

The Cadillac Vistiq has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags help 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.

The Vistiq 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, Full-Time Four-Wheel Drive is standard on the Vistiq. But it costs extra on the Grand Highlander.

A passive infrared night vision system standard on the Vistiq Premium Luxury/Platinum 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.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Vistiq has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert with Rear 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/Nightshade offers Parking Support Brake.

Both the Vistiq 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, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

The Cadillac Vistiq weighs 1421 to 2036 pounds more than the Toyota Grand Highlander. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The Vistiq comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck. The Grand Highlander’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

Cadillac’s powertrain warranty covers the Vistiq 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Toyota covers the Grand Highlander. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 6 years or 70,000 miles. Coverage on the Grand Highlander ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Vistiq’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Grand Highlander’s (6 vs. 5 years).

The Vistiq has more powerful engines than the Grand Highlander:

As tested in Motor Trend the Cadillac Vistiq is faster than the Toyota Grand Highlander:

On the EPA test cycle the Vistiq gets better mileage than the Grand Highlander:

The Vistiq can travel with zero emissions for 300 miles. The Grand Highlander can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Cadillac Vistiq higher (10 out of 10) than the Toyota Grand Highlander (6). This means the Vistiq produces up to 12.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Grand Highlander every 15,000 miles.

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

The Vistiq’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 Vistiq stops much shorter than the Grand Highlander:

For better traction, the Vistiq has larger standard tires than the Grand Highlander (285/45R21 vs. 255/65R18). The Vistiq’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Grand Highlander (305/35R23 vs. 255/65R18).

The Vistiq’s standard 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 LE/XLE’s standard 65 series tires. The Vistiq’s optional tires have a lower 35 series profile than the Grand Highlander Limited/Platinum/Nightshade’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Vistiq has standard 21-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Grand Highlander LE/XLE. The Vistiq’s optional 23-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels on the Grand Highlander Limited/Platinum/Nightshade.

The Cadillac Vistiq’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Toyota Grand Highlander only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

Having a flat tire is dangerous, inconvenient and expensive. The self-sealing tires standard on the Vistiq 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 Vistiq 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 or off-road. The Grand Highlander’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The Vistiq has a standard automatic 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.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Vistiq’s wheelbase is 5.7 inches longer than on the Grand Highlander (121.8 inches vs. 116.1 inches).

The Vistiq Sport handles at .78 G’s, while the Grand Highlander XLE AWD pulls only .77 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Vistiq Sport executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2 seconds quicker than the Grand Highlander XLE AWD (26.6 seconds @ .71 average G’s vs. 28.6 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

The Vistiq 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 Vistiq has 1.4 inches more front legroom, 1 inch more front hip room, .8 inches more front shoulder room, .7 inches more rear legroom, .3 inches more rear hip room, .9 inches more rear shoulder room and 2.4 inches more third row headroom than the Grand Highlander.

Pressing a switch automatically lowers the Vistiq’s second row seats and pressing a switch automatically lowers the third row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Grand Highlander doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

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

The Vistiq 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.

Unlike the driver-only memory seat and mirrors in the Grand Highlander Limited/Platinum, the Vistiq has standard driver and passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The Vistiq’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 Vistiq’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 Vistiq’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 offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The Cadillac Vistiq has power folding mirrors that offer unparalleled convenience while maneuvering in tight places or parked. With the mirrors folded it’s easier to walk past and help prevent parking damage. The mirrors can be quickly unfolded when the driver is ready to leave. Power folding mirrors are only offered on the Grand Highlander Limited/Platinum/Nightshade.

The Vistiq 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/Nightshade.

The Vistiq 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 Cadillac Vistiq has a standard Homelink wireless remote control system for garage door operation and device management, conveniently located on the infotainment. Homelink® eliminates the need for separate garage door openers and associated risks of losing, breaking, or having dead batteries. Homelink® is only available on the Grand Highlander XLE/Limited/Nightshade/Platinum.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Cadillac Vistiq has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console for two separate devices. Only the Grand Highlander XLE/Limited/Nightshade/Platinum offers wireless charging, and only charges one device.