2022 Jeep Grand Wagoneer vs 2021 Toyota RAV4

Since its launch in 1997, the Toyota RAV4 has ridden a wave of crossover SUV popularity to become one of Toyota’s bestselling models. Introduced for the 2019 model year, the current-generation RAV4 tries to offer the rugged style of a traditional SUV, but underneath it’s still a car-based crossover pitched against the likes of the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, Nissan Rogue, Subaru Forester, and Volkswagen Tiguan.

Because it’s only in its third model year, this fifth-generation RAV4 doesn’t get many updates for 2021. The biggest news is the addition of the RAV4 Prime plug-in hybrid to the lineup, but that model actually went on sale last year.

Toyota offers compact SUV buyers more choices than most competitors. The Toyota RAV4 LE, XLE, and Limited trim levels are available with hybrid and non-hybrid powertrains. Toyota also offers the gasoline-only Premium package for the XLE grade and the RAV4 Trail grade with available TRD Off-Road package, plus the RAV4 Hybrid XSE. The RAV4 Prime is also available in two trim levels—SE and XSE.

This review will focus on the gasoline RAV4. Our test car was a RAV4 Trail with the TRD Off-Road package, which joined the lineup for the 2020 model year and is the first RAV4 model tuned by Toyota Racing Development, the automaker’s North American performance division.

Given the brand’s war-fighting origins, the idea of a luxury Jeep seems a bit oxymoronic. But premium SUVs that combine off-road capability with comfort and opulence are fairly common these days, and Jeep wants in on the action.

Resurrecting a name that dates back to 1984, the 2022 Jeep Grand Wagoneer is the automaker’s answer to the Cadillac Escalade, Infiniti QX80, and Lincoln Navigator. Like these rivals, the Wagoneer is a body-on-frame full-size SUV based on a more mainstream model. In this case, that’s the 2022 Wagoneer, which is also new for this model year (and is covered in a separate review).

Jeep considers the Grand Wagoneer and Wagoneer to be components of a new sub-brand, sitting atop the rest of its lineup. In addition to the Wagoneer name and a basic platform, both models share exterior and interior styling and many tech features. So there’s less to differentiate a Grand Wagoneer from a Wagoneer than, say, a Lincoln Navigator from a Ford Expedition. The relationship might be more like that of the GMC Yukon to the Chevrolet Tahoe.

To see if the Grand Wagoneer justifies its “grand” nomenclature, we drove it back to back with a standard Wagoneer, navigating city streets and off-road trails. The Grand Wagoneer launches in Series I, Series II, Series III, and Obsidian trim levels. Our test vehicle was the midlevel Series II version.