Toyota Highlander vs Mitsubishi Outlander: which is more reliable?
The Toyota Highlander and the Mitsubishi Outlander are level on the federal record — 65/100 against 68/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Toyota Highlander
- 11 model years scored
- 2,349 owner complaints on record
- about 27 complaints per year on the road
- 39 recall campaigns, 24 safety-critical
- best year 2016 (86/100) · worst 2020 (37/100)
Mitsubishi Outlander
- 14 model years scored
- 1,105 owner complaints on record
- about 14 complaints per year on the road
- 67 recall campaigns, 23 safety-critical
- best year 2012 (88/100) · worst 2022 (34/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Highlander against Outlander
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.
What owners actually complain about
Toyota Highlander
- Power Train — 461 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 363 complaints
- Electrical System — 306 complaints
Mitsubishi Outlander
- Power Train — 256 complaints
- Electrical System — 156 complaints
- Engine — 145 complaints
Both nameplates have Power Train as their largest complaint group, so the choice between them is about how often, not about what.
Years to avoid on each
Toyota Highlander — avoid: 2018, 2019, 2020.
Mitsubishi Outlander — avoid: 2015, 2016, 2022.
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 Toyota Highlander prices at about $40,800 and a Mitsubishi Outlander at about $40,800 — they price within $1 of each other, which at this level is the same money, and they return 25.0 against 27.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Toyota Highlander or the Mitsubishi Outlander more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Mitsubishi Outlander scores 68/100 against the Toyota Highlander's 65/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Toyota Highlander and Mitsubishi Outlander years should I avoid?
Toyota Highlander: 2018, 2019, 2020. Mitsubishi Outlander: 2015, 2016, 2022. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Toyota Highlander and the Mitsubishi Outlander?
The largest complaint group on the Toyota Highlander is Power Train (461 complaints); on the Mitsubishi Outlander it is Power Train (256).
Is the Toyota Highlander or the Mitsubishi Outlander cheaper to own?
A recent used Toyota Highlander prices at about $40,800 and a Mitsubishi Outlander at about $40,800, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.