The Toyota Highlander has long been a favorite in the competitive midsize SUV market, consistently praised for its reliability, comfort, and family-friendly features. For prospective buyers in 2024 and 2025, safety remains a paramount concern. This review dives deep into the safety ratings of the 2024-2025 Toyota Highlander, providing a comprehensive analysis based on rigorous testing. Understanding these ratings is crucial for anyone considering a Highlander, ensuring peace of mind for you and your loved ones on the road.
Small Overlap Front Crash Test: Analyzing Driver and Passenger Safety
The small overlap front test is designed to simulate what happens when the corner of a vehicle collides with another vehicle or a fixed object like a tree or pole. This is a particularly challenging test because it bypasses the main energy-absorbing structures of the vehicle. The Toyota Grand Highlander underwent both driver-side and passenger-side small overlap front tests, and the results provide valuable insights into its structural integrity and occupant protection.
Driver-Side Small Overlap Performance
The 2024-2025 Toyota Grand Highlander achieved an Acceptable (A) rating in the driver-side small overlap evaluation. This rating considers various factors, including the structural performance of the vehicle and the injury risk to the driver.
Alt text: Driver-side small overlap crash test of Toyota Grand Highlander demonstrating vehicle structure during impact.
The structural performance and safety cage of the Highlander earned an Acceptable (A) rating, indicating that the structure held up reasonably well during the crash. Crucially, injury measures for the driver were all rated as Good (G) across all body regions: head/neck, chest, hip/thigh, and lower leg/foot. This signifies a low risk of significant injuries in these areas in a real-world small overlap crash scenario. Furthermore, driver restraints and dummy kinematics were also rated Acceptable (A), suggesting effective occupant control during the impact.
Alt text: Driver dummy position after Toyota Grand Highlander small overlap test, showing survival space maintenance.
Alt text: Airbag deployment and head movement of driver dummy in Toyota Grand Highlander small overlap crash test.
Alt text: Toyota Grand Highlander driver-side footwell integrity after small overlap crash test, indicating low injury risk.
Technical measurements from the driver-side test reveal specific intrusion levels in the occupant compartment. For instance, the maximum intrusion at the upper dash was 10 cm, while the steering column intrusion was 5 cm. These measurements, combined with dummy injury readings like a low HIC-15 of 112 and chest compression of 21mm, reinforce the “Good” injury ratings and overall “Acceptable” driver-side small overlap performance.
Passenger-Side Small Overlap Performance
The passenger-side small overlap test is equally important as it assesses the safety for the front passenger. The 2024-2025 Toyota Grand Highlander excelled in this evaluation, achieving an overall Good (G) rating for passenger-side small overlap performance.
In line with the driver-side, the structure and safety cage received an Acceptable (A) rating. However, passenger injury measures and passenger restraints & dummy kinematics both earned Good (G) ratings across all categories. This demonstrates robust protection for the front passenger in a small overlap frontal crash. Notably, even driver injury measures (collected from sensors on the passenger dummy for research purposes) were all rated Good (G) in this passenger-side test.
Technical measurements for the passenger side test further support the “Good” ratings. Head injury criterion (HIC-15) was a very low 62, and chest compression was minimal at 16mm. Intrusion measurements were also low, with the upper dash intrusion at 10 cm, similar to the driver’s side, indicating consistent structural performance across the vehicle front.
Moderate Overlap Front Crash Test: Excellent Occupant Protection
The moderate overlap front test involves a frontal collision with a deformable barrier, impacting a significant portion of the vehicle’s front end. This test is a more traditional frontal crash assessment and represents a common type of real-world accident. The 2024-2025 Toyota Grand Highlander achieved the highest rating of Good (G) in the moderate overlap front test.
This “Good” overall evaluation is underpinned by “Good” ratings in all subcategories: structure and safety cage, driver injury measures, and driver restraints and dummy kinematics. All injury measures for the driver – head/neck, chest, and leg/foot (left and right) – were rated as Good (G), indicating a very low risk of serious injuries in this type of frontal crash.
Technical measurements from the moderate overlap test show minimal occupant compartment intrusion. For example, footwell intrusion measurements ranged from 5-7 cm, and steering column movement was only 1 cm rearward and 5 cm upward. These minimal intrusion values, combined with favorable dummy injury readings such as a HIC-15 of 309 (still within acceptable limits) and chest compression of 28mm, confirm the excellent occupant protection offered by the Toyota Grand Highlander in a moderate overlap frontal impact.
Side Crash Test: Updated Evaluation for Enhanced Safety
Side impacts are a significant source of injury in vehicle accidents, and the updated side crash test (Side 2.0) is more rigorous than previous evaluations, using a heavier barrier and higher impact speed. The 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander (rating applies to 2024 models for this test) also achieved a Good (G) rating in the updated side crash test.
The overall “Good” rating is supported by “Good” ratings for structure and safety cage, driver injury measures, driver head protection, rear passenger injury measures, and rear passenger head protection. While the pelvis injury measure for the driver was rated as Acceptable (A), all other driver and rear passenger injury measures (head/neck, torso, pelvis for rear passenger) were Good (G). This indicates strong side impact protection for both front and rear occupants.
Technical measurements from the side crash test show controlled intrusion into the occupant compartment. The B-pillar intrusion measurement was -21.0 cm (negative value indicates crush stopped short of the seat centerline), demonstrating effective structural resistance to side impact forces. Dummy injury readings were also low, such as a HIC-15 of 38 for the driver’s head and 28mm maximum torso deflection for both driver and passenger, further validating the “Good” safety rating.
Headlight Performance: Ensuring Visibility
Good headlights are crucial for accident prevention, especially at night. The headlight evaluation assesses visibility provided by both low beams and high beams in various driving scenarios, including straightaways and curves. All trim levels of the 2024-2025 Toyota Grand Highlander come equipped with LED projector headlights and achieved an overall Acceptable (A) rating for headlight performance.
The low beams provided good visibility on straightaways and curves, although some glare was noted. High beams offered fair to good visibility depending on the curve sharpness. The high-beam assist feature was credited for compensating for some low-beam limitations on left curves.
Technical measurements show average minimum useful illumination distances for low beams ranging from approximately 58 to 131 meters, depending on the driving scenario (straightaway or curve, left or right side). Glare measurements for low beams exceeded the threshold in some curve scenarios, contributing to the “Acceptable” rather than “Good” overall rating.
Front Crash Prevention: Pedestrian Detection System
Pedestrian safety is increasingly important, and front crash prevention systems that can detect and react to pedestrians are a valuable safety feature. The 2024-2025 Toyota Grand Highlander, equipped with standard Toyota Safety Sense 3.0, earned a Good (G) rating for pedestrian front crash prevention.
The system successfully avoided collisions with a crossing child and a crossing adult in both day and night conditions at speeds of 12 mph and 25 mph. In the parallel adult scenario at 25 mph and 37 mph, the system also avoided collisions under both low and high beam headlight conditions, sometimes issuing a warning just before potential impact at the higher speed. These tests demonstrate the effectiveness of the Grand Highlander’s pedestrian detection and automatic emergency braking system.
Child Seat Anchors (LATCH): Ease of Use
For families, the ease of installing child safety seats is a key consideration. The LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) system evaluation assesses the usability of child seat anchors. The 2024-2025 Toyota Grand Highlander received a Good (G) rating for child seat anchors.
The Highlander has three rear seating positions with complete LATCH hardware and additional positions with tether anchors. The evaluation noted that lower anchors in positions 1, 2, and 3 were easy to use – not too deep in the seat, requiring reasonable force to attach to, and easy to maneuver around. Positions 4 and 5 had some usability issues, such as lower anchors being too deep in the seat or other hardware being potentially confused for anchors. Overall, the “Good” rating reflects the generally user-friendly child seat anchor system in the Grand Highlander.
Conclusion: Toyota Highlander – A Safe Choice for Families
This detailed review of the 2024-2025 Toyota Grand Highlander safety ratings reveals a vehicle designed with occupant safety as a priority. Achieving “Good” ratings in key crash tests like moderate overlap front and side impact, and “Acceptable” ratings in the demanding small overlap front test, demonstrates a strong level of crashworthiness. The “Good” rating for pedestrian front crash prevention and “Acceptable” headlight rating further contribute to its overall safety profile. Combined with a “Good” rating for child seat anchors, the Toyota Grand Highlander stands out as a safe and family-friendly SUV. For those prioritizing safety in their vehicle purchase decisions, the Toyota Highlander reviews and safety assessments clearly indicate it as a top contender in its class.
