Over the last couple of decades, the Highlander has quietly become one of Toyota’s most established models — and a stalwart choice in the mid-size crossover segment. The original Highlander first debuted more than 25 years ago, when it broke ground as one of the first three-row crossover SUVs — and though the Highlander has grown in size, Toyota has stuck with that formula ever since.

For 2027, the Highlander will be undergoing its biggest evolution yet as it moves to a fully electric powertrain – leaving the Grand Highlander to take over for consumers who still want internal combustion — but for the time being, the current combustion and hybrid versions of this crossover remain a popular choice in the segment. As one would expect, Toyota’s reputation for reliability is a big draw for Highlander buyers, and indeed, this model has generally received high scores for its reliability and many other aspects . In recent years, though, there have been some strong new mid-size SUV alternatives that have emerged.

Below, we’ve rounded up five SUVs that, according to trusted sources like Consumer Reports and J.D. Power, outperform the familiar, but aging Toyota Highlander in a number of categories. The selection includes some of the Highlander’s direct mid-size competitors, along with a couple of Toyota SUVs that can be found in the same showroom.

Toyota’s SUV lineup has grown significantly in recent years, and one of the more recent additions that could serve as an alternative to the Highlander is the Crown Signia. Not to be confused with the slightly odd, high-riding Toyota Crown sedan, the Crown Signia is more of a traditional SUV — and to some eyes, about as close as you can get to a modern Toyota station wagon.

Our experience with the 2025 Crown Signia showed this crossover to be an intriguing choice, with its mix of Lexus-grade refinement and the impressive fuel economy from its standard hybrid powertrain. The Crown Signia gets high marks from Consumer Reports, where it comes in as the top-ranked Toyota SUV and the second-highest finisher among all mid-sized SUVs. It also earns a high overall rating from J.D. Power, with an especially high score in the all-important quality and reliability category.

How does the Crown Signia compare to the Highlander? With the Signia, you’ll be trading some of the Highlander’s size and practicality (along with its third-row of seating) for a sleeker, more luxury-like SUV experience that happens to deliver excellent fuel economy. Beyond interior space, the biggest difference between these two Toyota SUVs might be under the hood. While the Highlander can be had with either a 2.5-liter hybrid or a 2.4-liter gasoline turbocharged engine, the Crown Signia is hybrid-only. 

Like the Highlander, Hyundai’s Santa Fe is another SUV model that’s been around for a long time. In fact, both the Santa Fe and the Highlander debuted during the same 2001 model year. Both SUVs have grown in size since then, and the Santa Fe received an extensive redesign for the 2024 model year. The new Santa Fe got larger, boxier, and now includes a standard third row, which could help it win over Highlander buyers.

Like the Highlander, the Santa Fe is available with both gasoline and hybrid powertrains — and the hybrid model earns especially high marks. Consumer Reports rates the Santa Fe Hybrid as the third best mid-sized SUV with three rows of seats overall, one spot ahead of the Highlander Hybrid in that category.

As for comparing the Hyundai directly against the Toyota, the Highlander is the larger SUV on the outside, but the Santa Fe actually beats it in several interior space categories. Another thing that might draw buyers to the Hyundai is its price — according to Truecar, the base price of the Santa Fe is about $11,000 less than the Highlander. While some might be wary of picking a Hyundai over a Toyota if they’re looking for long-term reliability above all, the Santa Fe is an SUV that punches above its weight in many ways.

If you were comparing strictly on paper, the three-row Subaru Ascent would be that brand’s most direct competitor to the Highlander, but if three rows of seating aren’t a strict requirement, the new Subaru Outback could potentially be the strongest alternative to the Highlander. Although it started back in the 1990s as a simple Subaru Legacy station wagon with a lift kit, the Outback has since evolved more into a dedicated mid-sized SUV, and that became explicit with the Outback’s radical 2026 redesign. 

Larger and more squared off than it was before, the 2026 Outback has narrowed the gap between itself and more traditional mid-sized SUVs — even if some Subaru purists aren’t sold on the new look. Sentimentality aside, the new Outback is extremely competitive in its class, with U.S. News giving it a tie for second place in the midsize SUV category, well above the Highlander. 

One area where the Outback falls behind the Highlander is its lack of a hybrid option. Currently, the Outback’s only two engine options are a 2.5-liter naturally aspirated boxer engine or a 2.4-liter turbocharged boxer engine. However, given the recent additions of the Forester and Crosstrek Hybrids to the Subaru lineup, it’s likely that electrification will eventually make its way to the Outback as well. For now, even when optioned with its more upgraded 2.4 turbo engine, the Outback is still priced cheaper than a Highlander — and you get Subaru’s legendary AWD system too.

Given Toyota’s excellent reputation for quality, you may expect that one of its SUVs would rank at the top of the Consumer Reports list of today’s best SUVs, but that honor actually goes to a mid-size SUV made by one of Toyota’s Japanese competitors — the Honda Passport. The three-row Honda Pilot would be the more direct competitor to the Highlander, but the Passport plays in the same mid-size segment, and has earned high marks across the board.

The Passport excels in its off-road capability, but even if you don’t plan on taking your SUV off of the pavement, there’s still a lot to like, with impressive space in both the second row and the cargo area. U.S News rates the Passport as the fourth-best midsize SUV on sale right now, and the Honda is also among its best picks for families. 

One area where the Passport diverges from the Highlander is under the hood. Distinctly old school in its approach, the Passport offers neither a turbocharged engine nor a hybrid option — all Passports are powered by Honda’s naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V6 engine. Depending on your needs, that can be either a good thing or a bad thing. Compared to turbos and hybrids, the V6 is outgunned in both low-end torque and fuel efficiency, but it also delivers mechanical simplicity and an engine character that’s increasingly rare in modern SUVs of any type.

If you take a look at sales figures, you’ll see that annual Toyota Highlander sales have fallen off quite dramatically over the last few years, and the biggest reason for that is likely the arrival of the larger Toyota Grand Highlander, which debuted for the 2024 model year. As its name implies, the Grand Highlander is larger than the Highlander both inside and out, with especially large bumps in cargo space and third-row legroom. Like the Highlander, the Grand Highlander is available in both hybrid and non-hybrid versions. 

Our experience with the 2025 Grand Highlander Hybrid showed a highly refined, comfortable crossover that has as much interior space as you can get before moving up to a full-size, truck-based SUV like the Toyota Sequoia. Consumer Reports rates the Grand Highlander Hybrid second among three-row mid-size SUVs, and also among the 10 best SUVs on sale today. It’s also tied for fifth in the U.S. News mid-size SUV rankings, more than ten spots ahead of the regular Highlander.

In 2025, the Grand Highlander outsold the regular Highlander by more than double, suggesting that it’s now taken over the Highlander’s old position in the Toyota lineup. This also helps to explain why Toyota is now repositioning the smaller Highlander as a new, all-electric, three-row crossover that carries a familiar and trusted name.

When compiling this list, we limited our selections to mid-size crossover SUV models most likely to be cross-shopped against the Highlander. We considered reliability, quality, and performance rankings from third-party sources and media outlets like J.D. Power, Consumer Reports, and U.S. News and World Report, along with our own first-hand reviews and driving experiences at SlashGear.