Toyota Highlander vs Volkswagen CC: which is more reliable?
The Volkswagen CC is clearly ahead of the Toyota Highlander on the federal record: 76/100 against 65/100 across every model year we score.
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)
Volkswagen CC
- 7 model years scored
- 604 owner complaints on record
- about 5 complaints per year on the road
- 33 recall campaigns, 23 safety-critical
- best year 2017 (89/100) · worst 2012 (36/100)
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 CC
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
Volkswagen CC
- Air Bags — 279 complaints
- Fuel/Propulsion System — 119 complaints
- Engine — 119 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Highlander's complaints concentrate in Power Train, the CC's in Air Bags. 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
Toyota Highlander — avoid: 2018, 2019, 2020.
Volkswagen CC — avoid: 2012.
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 Volkswagen CC at about $21,800 — the Volkswagen CC is roughly $19,000 less, and they return 25.0 against 25.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Toyota Highlander or the Volkswagen CC more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Volkswagen CC scores 76/100 against the Toyota Highlander's 65/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Volkswagen CC carries about 5 complaints per year on the road against 27 for the Toyota Highlander.
Which Toyota Highlander and Volkswagen CC years should I avoid?
Toyota Highlander: 2018, 2019, 2020. Volkswagen CC: 2012. 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 Volkswagen CC?
The largest complaint group on the Toyota Highlander is Power Train (461 complaints); on the Volkswagen CC it is Air Bags (279).
Is the Toyota Highlander or the Volkswagen CC cheaper to own?
A recent used Toyota Highlander prices at about $40,800 and a Volkswagen CC at about $21,800, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.