2020 Toyota Highlander vs. 2020 Lincoln Aviator

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Highlander are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Aviator doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Highlander has standard Whiplash Injury Lessening Seats, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash Injury Lessening Seats system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Aviator doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Both the Highlander and the Aviator have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

A significantly tougher test than their original offset frontal crash test, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH small overlap frontal offset crash tests. In this test, where only 25% of the total width of the vehicle is struck, results indicate that the Toyota Highlander is safer than the Aviator:

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Highlander the rating of “Top Pick” for 2020, a rating granted to only 30 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Aviator is not a “Top Pick.”

Toyota pays for scheduled maintenance on the Highlander for 2 years and 25000 miles. Toyota will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Lincoln only pays for the first scheduled maintenance visit on the Aviator.

There are over 55 percent more Toyota dealers than there are Lincoln dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Highlander’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2019 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Lincoln vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota second in reliability, above the industry average. With 39 more problems per 100 vehicles, Lincoln is ranked 19th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ December 2019 Auto Issue reports that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Lincoln vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Toyota third in reliability. Lincoln is ranked 15th.

On the EPA test cycle the Highlander gets better fuel mileage than the Aviator:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Toyota Highlander uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Aviator requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

The Highlander stops shorter than the Aviator:

The Highlander XLE AWD handles at .82 G’s, while the Aviator AWD pulls only .80 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the Highlander’s turning circle is 1.8 feet tighter than the Aviator’s (37.4 feet vs. 39.2 feet).

The Toyota Highlander may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 600 to 1250 pounds less than the Lincoln Aviator.

The Highlander is 4.4 inches shorter than the Aviator, making the Highlander easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Highlander has standard seating for 8 passengers; the Aviator can only carry 7.

The Highlander has .9 inches more rear legroom, 4.7 inches more third row hip room and 1 inch more third row shoulder room than the Aviator.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Highlander’s middle and third row seats recline. The Aviator’s third row seats don’t recline.

The Highlander’s cargo area provides more volume than the Aviator.

When the Highlander Limited/Platinum is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Aviator’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

The Toyota Highlander outsold the Lincoln Aviator by almost 29 to one during 2019.