2023 Toyota Sequoia vs 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander

The 2023 Toyota Sequoia was a striking presence on the road, with its bold design inspired by the Toyota Tundra pickup truck. The SUV's exterior featured a traditional grille and front bumper, which distinguished it from the Tundra's more unconventional look. Inside, the Sequoia shared many design elements with the Tundra, offering an industrial theme with luxurious touches in the Capstone trim, such as leather, wood, and metallic finishes. The 14-inch Toyota Audio Multimedia infotainment system dominated the dashboard, and the interior was available in a cream white-over-black two-tone colour scheme. Despite its upscale appearance, some materials reminded drivers of its pickup truck origins.

The 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander, built on the TNGA-K platform, was a true crossover with a spacious interior. It was larger than its competitors, such as the Kia Telluride, and offered a more conservative, blocky design reminiscent of the Ford Explorer and Honda Pilot. The Grand Highlander's interior featured black Softex synthetic leather on the XLE trim, with real leather available on the Limited and Platinum trims. The Platinum Hybrid trim offered Portobello upholstery. The vehicle's design provided ample headroom, legroom, and shoulder room, making it comfortable for passengers in all three rows. The Grand Highlander excelled as a road-trip vehicle, with high-quality materials and a well-built interior.

The 2023 Toyota Sequoia was powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.5-litre V6 engine, a 10-speed automatic transmission, a 36-kilowatt electric motor/generator, and a 1.87 kilowatt-hour nickel-metal hydride battery pack. This hybrid powertrain delivered 437 horsepower at 5,200 rpm and 583 pound-feet of torque at 2,400 rpm. The Sequoia's towing capacity increased to 4,137 kilograms, and it achieved a fuel economy rating of 11.7 L/100 km with 4WD. The SUV offered various driving modes, including Eco, Comfort, Normal, Sport, and Sport+, but its steering was slow, and the regenerative braking system felt unresponsive.

The 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander offered three engine options: a 2.4-litre turbo four-cylinder with 265 horsepower, a 2.5-litre four-cylinder hybrid with 245 combined net horsepower, and the Hybrid Max powertrain with 362 combined net horsepower. All powertrains came with AWD in Canada. The Grand Highlander provided a smooth ride, although its steering felt numb and disconnected. The brakes were solid, and acceleration was adequate, especially with the Hybrid Max. The vehicle featured Sport, Eco, and Normal drive modes, with additional off-road modes for gas-only and Hybrid Max models.

The 2023 Toyota Sequoia excelled on open roads, offering a comfortable cabin with soft leather upholstery, a JBL premium audio system, and a triple-zone automatic climate control system. However, the Sequoia's interior space was compromised by its hybrid powertrain, resulting in reduced cargo capacity compared to its predecessor. The third-row seat was less comfortable, and the power liftgate window was replaced with a flip-up glass window. The Sequoia's maximum cargo capacity was 2,460 litres, significantly less than its rivals.

The 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander boasted a spacious interior, with a total cargo capacity of 2,761 litres. It offered more storage space than competitors like the Kia Telluride and provided ample room for passengers in all three rows. The Grand Highlander's design ensured good outward visibility and comfort for passengers, making it an excellent choice for families and road trips.

The 2023 Toyota Sequoia featured a new Toyota Audio Multimedia infotainment system, with a 14-inch touchscreen in most trims. The system included wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but the display suffered from glare. The Capstone trim offered a 10-inch head-up display and a surround-view camera system. The Intelligent Assistant responded to voice commands, but some features required a subscription.

The 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander came with a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system, offering an intelligent assistant, cloud-based navigation, and live agent assistance through a subscription. Standard features included dual-device Bluetooth connectivity and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The Limited and Platinum trims featured an 11-speaker JBL stereo, providing excellent sound quality.

The 2023 Toyota Sequoia included Toyota Safety Sense 2.5 as standard, featuring forward-collision warning, pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, lane-centring assist, adaptive cruise control, and more. The Sequoia also offered blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and Safety Connect services. While crash test ratings were unavailable, the Tundra's high rating boded well for the Sequoia.

The 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander featured Toyota Safety Sense 3.0, with automatic emergency braking, lane-departure alert with steering assist, lane-tracing assist, automatic high beams, road-sign recognition, and blind-spot monitoring. The adaptive cruise control offered four following-distance settings. Traffic jam assist and a head-up display were exclusive to the Platinum grade.