Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk vs Toyota Highlander Hybrid: which is more reliable?

The Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk and the Toyota Highlander Hybrid are level on the federal record — 77/100 against 74/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.

The record, side by side

Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk

77/100 mean
  • 4 model years scored
  • 1,116 owner complaints on record
  • about 38 complaints per year on the road
  • 0 recall campaigns, 0 safety-critical
  • best year 2021 (94/100) · worst 2018 (47/100)

Toyota Highlander Hybrid

74/100 mean
  • 9 model years scored
  • 540 owner complaints on record
  • about 7 complaints per year on the road
  • 12 recall campaigns, 3 safety-critical
  • best year 2018 (94/100) · worst 2017 (47/100)

Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.

Year by year: Grand Cherokee Trackhawk against Highlander Hybrid

The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.

YearGrand Cherokee TrackhawkHighlander Hybrid Gap
2022—87 BUY—
202194 BUY——
202087 BUY83 BUY+4
201980 BUY93 BUY-13
201847 AVOID94 BUY-47
2017—47 AVOID—
2016—51 CAUTION—
2015—50 CAUTION—
2014—90 BUY—
2011—92 BUY—

What owners actually complain about

Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk

  • Electrical System — 385 complaints
  • Unknown Or Other — 296 complaints
  • Engine — 177 complaints

Toyota Highlander Hybrid

  • Unknown Or Other — 112 complaints
  • Electrical System — 109 complaints
  • Service Brakes — 71 complaints

They do not fail the same way: the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk's complaints concentrate in Electrical System, the Highlander Hybrid's in Unknown Or Other. That difference matters more to a buyer than the score gap, because it says which repair bill you are taking on.

Years to avoid on each

Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk — avoid: 2018.

Toyota Highlander Hybrid — avoid: 2017.

A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.

What each costs today

A recent used Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk prices at about $31,600 and a Toyota Highlander Hybrid at about $31,700 — they price within $100 of each other, which at this level is the same money, and they return 13.0 against 36.0 MPG combined.

Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.

FAQ

Is the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk or the Toyota Highlander Hybrid more reliable?

On the NHTSA record the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk scores 77/100 against the Toyota Highlander Hybrid's 74/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.

Which Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk and Toyota Highlander Hybrid years should I avoid?

Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk: 2018. Toyota Highlander Hybrid: 2017. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.

What goes wrong on the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk and the Toyota Highlander Hybrid?

The largest complaint group on the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk is Electrical System (385 complaints); on the Toyota Highlander Hybrid it is Unknown Or Other (112).

Is the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk or the Toyota Highlander Hybrid cheaper to own?

A recent used Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk prices at about $31,600 and a Toyota Highlander Hybrid at about $31,700, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.

More head-to-heads