Toyota Highlander vs Ford Explorer
Toyota Highlander vs Ford Explorer
Posted on November 22, 2021
The Toyota Highlander has long been thought of as one of the most versatile and stylish SUVs in its class. This impressive vehicle comes equipped with a wide range of advanced features. Under the hood, you will find a powerful and efficient engine. And the inside of the cabin, there is a wide range of advanced features.
While most people know that the Highlander is impressive, they are unsure how it stacks up against the competition. To better illustrate just how impressive this SUV truly is, here is a look at how the Toyota Highlander compares to the Ford Explorer.
What's New for 2022?
Both the Toyota Highlander and the Ford Explorer have a few new additional features this year. Here is a look at some of the exciting new features that you can find on both the Highlander and the Explorer.
Toyota Highlander
The Toyota Highlander offers a few new interior features. For instance, in the XLE trim, front-seat passengers can raise and lower their seats by using the power-adjustable feature. Also, the hybrid version offers a new Bronze Edition. This special edition appearance package adds bronze-coloured door protectors that are illuminated and new a new interior upholstery design that features fun geometric shapes and bronze accents. There are also stylish 18-inch bronze-coloured wheels that come with this package as well.
Ford Explorer
This year, the Explorer adds an entirely new trim level to the lineup. The new ST trim adds a few athletic features to the vehicle, including faux-sued upholstered seats with red stitching, ST badging on the door-jam protector plates, and 20-inch wheels. In the Timberline trim, owners can now opt for the available bench seats in the second row.
Interior Comfort Comparison
The Toyota Highland offers three rows of comfortable seating. With the standard bench seat in the second row, the Highlander can seat up to eight people comfortably. However, if you get the available second-row captain's chairs, there is room for seven passengers. All three rows offer enough legroom that fully-grown adults are able to comfortably sit in any of the offered seats.
Also, an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment display comes standard with the Highlander. However, an extra-large 12.3-inch touchscreen is available. Each infotainment displays come standard with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, a Wi-Fi hotspot, and SiriusXM satellite radio.
The Explorer also features three rows of seating that can include either a bench seat or captain's chairs for the second row. However, there is less legroom for the passengers in the third row. Also, the third-row seats sit very close to the floor, which would make it uncomfortable for anyone except young children.
Like the Highlander, the Explorer also comes standard with an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment display. However, if you want a bigger display, the only option is a 10.1-inch touchscreen.
Safety Features
The Highlander comes with more standard safety and driver-assist features than the Explorer offers. All Highlander models come equipped with Toyota's Safety Sense 2.5 system which comes with:
• Left Turn Intersection Support
• Automatic High Beams
• Full-Speed Range Dynamic Radar Cruise Control
• Front-to-Front Risk Detection
• Lane Tracing Assist
• Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection and Bicycle Detection
• Risk Avoidance
The Ford Explorer offers limited standard safety and driver-assist features. In fact, the base model Explorer only comes with a lane-keeping system for the driver-assist features.