Compare the2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9VS 2025 Toyota Grand Highlander

Both the Ioniq 9 and Grand Highlander have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Ioniq 9 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Grand Highlander’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Ioniq 9 has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Grand Highlander doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Ioniq 9 has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning with Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist, systems which detect vehicles approaching from the sides and can automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. Only the Grand Highlander Limited/Platinum/Nightshade offers Parking Support Brake.

Both the Ioniq 9 and the Grand Highlander 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, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The Hyundai Ioniq 9 weighs 602 to 1718 pounds more than the Toyota Grand Highlander. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The Ioniq 9 comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Grand Highlander’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Ioniq 9 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Toyota covers the Grand Highlander. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Grand Highlander ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Ioniq 9’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Grand Highlander’s (7 vs. 5 years).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Ioniq 9 for 1 year and 11000 miles longer than Toyota pays for maintenance for the Grand Highlander (3/36,000 vs. 2/25000).

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are better in initial quality than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 30 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is ranked 17th.

The Ioniq 9 has more powerful engines than the Grand Highlander:

On the EPA test cycle the Ioniq 9 gets better mileage than the Grand Highlander:

The Ioniq 9 can travel with zero emissions for 311 to 335 miles (dependent on model). The Grand Highlander can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

Regardless of its engine, regenerative brakes improve the Ioniq 9’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. Toyota only offers a regenerative brake system on the Grand Highlander Hybrid.

The Ioniq 9, as a pure battery electric vehicle, has no need to “idle” its motors in traffic: they only burn power when moving. The Ioniq 9’s climate control systems still work completely when the vehicle is stopped. The Grand Highlander still runs its internal combustion engine whenever it’s stopped, burning excess fuel.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Hyundai Ioniq 9 higher (10 out of 10) than the Toyota Grand Highlander (6). This means the Ioniq 9 produces up to 12.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Grand Highlander every 15,000 miles.

For better stopping power the Ioniq 9’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Grand Highlander:

The Ioniq 9’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Grand Highlander are solid, not vented.

For better traction, the Ioniq 9 Limited/Calligraphy’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Grand Highlander (285/45R21 vs. 255/65R18).

The Ioniq 9 S/SE’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Grand Highlander LE/XLE’s standard 65 series tires. The Ioniq 9 Limited/Calligraphy’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Grand Highlander Limited/Platinum’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Ioniq 9 S/SE has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Grand Highlander LE/XLE. The Ioniq 9 Limited/Calligraphy’s 21-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels on the Grand Highlander Limited/Platinum.

The Ioniq 9 has a standard automatic rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Grand Highlander doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

The Ioniq 9’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Grand Highlander doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Ioniq 9’s wheelbase is 7.1 inches longer than on the Grand Highlander (123.2 inches vs. 116.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Ioniq 9 is 1.5 inches wider in the front and 1.9 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Grand Highlander.

The front grille of the Ioniq 9 uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Grand Highlander doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Ioniq 9 Limited/Calligraphy uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Grand Highlander doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Ioniq 9 has 10.2 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Grand Highlander (163.5 vs. 153.3).

The Ioniq 9 has 2.3 inches more front hip room, 1.2 inches more front shoulder room, .8 inches more rear headroom, 3.3 inches more rear legroom, .7 inches more rear hip room, 2.2 inches more rear shoulder room and 2.5 inches more third row headroom than the Grand Highlander.

The Ioniq 9’s cargo area provides more volume than the Grand Highlander.

Pressing a switch automatically lowers or raises the Ioniq 9 Limited/Calligraphy’s second and third row seats, to make changing between cargo and passengers easier. The Grand Highlander doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Ioniq 9 uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Grand Highlander uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The Ioniq 9 Limited/Calligraphy’s standard easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Grand Highlander doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The Ioniq 9’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Grand Highlander’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Ioniq 9 Calligraphy has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Grand Highlander.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Hyundai Ioniq 9 has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Grand Highlander XLE/Limited/Nightshade/Platinum offers wireless charging.

The Ioniq 9 Calligraphy’s Parking Assist can parallel park by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Parking Assist will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Grand Highlander doesn’t offer an automated parking system.