2024 Honda Passport vs 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander

The 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander was a standout in Toyota's lineup of crossovers and SUVs, offering a range of options from all-gas to hybrid-powered models. Built on the TNGA-K platform, it shared its underpinnings with the regular Highlander, RAV4, Sienna, and Camry, distinguishing itself from the body-on-frame Sequoia. With a length of 5,115 millimetres and a wheelbase of 2,950 mm, it was larger than competitors like the Kia Telluride, providing a spacious interior. Its design, inspired by rugged vehicles, featured a blockier style with a trapezoidal grille and narrow headlights, reminiscent of the 4Runner. The Grand Highlander was available in three trims: XLE, Limited, and Platinum, with interior options ranging from black Softex synthetic leather to real leather in higher trims. It offered a comfortable and well-built interior, making it an excellent choice for road trips.

The 2024 Honda Passport retained much of its previous design, despite Honda's updated design language across other models. It featured a more upright grille and squared-off corners, maintaining a connection to Honda's previous-generation designs. Available in three trims—Sport, TrailSport, and Black Edition—the Passport offered a consistent set of features, including a power moonroof and all-wheel drive on every trim. The TrailSport trim, designed for ruggedness, came with all-terrain tires and roof rails. Inside, the Passport had a simple and unassuming design with physical controls and an 8-inch touchscreen. The TrailSport trim featured black leather upholstery with orange stitching, while the interior combined resilient plastics with softer materials. The Passport's utilitarian design emphasized practicality and storage space.

The 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander offered three engine options, starting with a 2.4-litre turbo four-cylinder engine producing 265 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque. For those prioritizing fuel efficiency, a 2.5-litre four-cylinder hybrid option delivered 245 combined net horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque. At the top, the Grand Highlander Hybrid Max powertrain boasted 362 horsepower and 400 combined net pound-feet of torque. All powertrains came with all-wheel drive in Canada. While not a sports car, the Hybrid Max provided impressive acceleration with a zero-to-60 time of 6.3 seconds. The Grand Highlander was known for its solid brakes and adequate acceleration, with three drive modes—Sport, Eco, and Normal—available on all models. Gas-only and Hybrid Max models also offered additional modes for different terrains.

The 2024 Honda Passport featured a naturally aspirated 3.5-litre V6 engine, producing 280 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque. Managed by a nine-speed automatic transmission, it offered smooth acceleration and unobtrusive gear shifts. The Passport's torque-vectoring iVTM4 all-wheel-drive system and traction-management system with various settings added value. The TrailSport trim had wider tracks, 18-inch wheels, and off-road-tuned suspension. While road and wind noise were noticeable at highway speeds, the Passport's steering was well-balanced and accurate. Its towing capacity matched the Grand Highlander at 2,268 kilograms, surpassing some competitors but falling short of others like the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander was larger than its primary rivals, offering a total cargo capacity of 2,761 litres. With 1,640 litres behind the second-row seats and 583 litres with all three rows up, it provided ample storage space. The Grand Highlander was comfortable, with good visibility and plenty of room in every row, accommodating even six-foot adults in the third row.

The 2024 Honda Passport excelled in cargo capacity, offering 1,430 litres behind the rear seats and expanding to 2,854 litres with the rear seats folded. It featured additional underfloor storage and a flush trunk-area floor for easy loading. The Passport comfortably seated five adults, with rear-seat legroom comparable to its segment. The front featured a redesigned centre console bin, providing more storage space, though it slightly reduced the airy feel of the cabin.

The 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander came with a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system, offering a visually stunning interface. An intelligent assistant and cloud-based navigation were available via a connected-services subscription. Standard features included dual-device Bluetooth connectivity, wireless Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto. The 11-speaker JBL stereo, standard on Limited and Platinum trims, provided good sound quality. Streaming audio integration and Sirius XM satellite radio were also available.

The 2024 Honda Passport featured an 8-inch touchscreen, which felt small in its spacious cabin. Standard features included Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Bluetooth connectivity, and a wireless charging pad. The system's navigation software pushed turn-by-turn directions to the driver's information display, which could be annoying in city driving. The TrailSport trim's seven-speaker audio system was thin, with better options available in competitors.

The 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander had not been crash-tested by NHTSA or IIHS, but it included Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 as standard. This suite featured automatic emergency braking, lane-departure alert, lane-tracing assist, automatic high beams, road-sign recognition, and blind-spot monitoring. Adaptive cruise control with four following-distance settings was also standard.

The 2024 Honda Passport came with forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot monitoring, cross-traffic monitoring, and adaptive cruise control. Despite these features, the Passport received mixed crash test ratings from IIHS and NHTSA, with some areas rated below top marks.