With its standard Toyota Safety Sense 3.0, the Toyota Grand Highlander is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Mercedes GLE, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
|
Grand Highlander |
GLE |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
|
Crossing Child - DAY |
|
12 MPH |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
|
Crossing Adult - NIGHT |
|
12 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
12 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-23 MPH |
|
Parallel Adult - NIGHT |
|
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-24 MPH |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-22 MPH |
37 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
Warning Issued-Brights |
2 sec |
1.8 sec |
37 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-8 MPH |
Warning Issued-Low beams |
1.8 sec |
.9 sec |
The Grand Highlander’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the GLE.
The Toyota Grand Highlander’s rear backup camera has a standard washer for maintaining a clear view under various conditions. In contrast, the Mercedes GLE does not offer a rear camera washer, meaning its effectiveness relies on manual cleaning by the user when necessary.
Both the Grand Highlander and the GLE have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH, results indicate that the Toyota Grand Highlander is safer than the Mercedes GLE:
|
Grand Highlander |
GLE |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Chest Movement |
.3 inches |
.7 inches |
Abdominal Force |
64 lbs. |
151 lbs. |
Hip Force |
199 lbs. |
287 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
63 |
103 |
Spine Acceleration |
39 G’s |
40 G’s |
Hip Force |
55 lbs. |
677 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Toyota Grand Highlander is safer than the GLE:
|
Grand Highlander |
GLE |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Structure |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
38 |
50 |
Neck Tension |
134 lbs. |
201 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.35 in |
.87 in |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.1 in |
1.34 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
4 MPH |
6 MPH |
Pelvis |
ACCEPTABLE |
ACCEPTABLE |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
143 |
232 |
Neck Tension |
67 lbs. |
89 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Torso Deflection Rate |
6 MPH |
7 MPH |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Pelvis Force |
446 lbs. |
1116 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |