Burly SUVs like the Explorer and the Highlander need to have a lot of power to perform at their best. Thankfully for drivers of these amazing sets of wheels, you’ll get exactly that. Let’s start by taking a look at the engines in the Toyota:

• 2.4L 4-cylinder: 265 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque
• Hybrid 2.5L: 243 combined net horsepower, with a combustion engine that produces 186 horsepower and 175 lb-ft of torque

While that’s certainly a lot of power, the Ford has more to say. While the Explorer offers the same number of engines, you’ll find their capabilities more potent:

• 2.3L EcoBoost®: 300 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque
• 3.0L EcoBoost® V6: 400 horsepower and 415 lb-ft of torque

For a more thrilling commute, the Ford Explorer is the way to go.

If the Explorer has more power under the hood, does it also have greater hauling capabilities? Yes! When properly equipped, the Ford can tow up to 5,600 pounds worth of equipment, whereas the Toyota can tow up to 5,000 pounds.

Despite this 600-pound difference, both models will easily be able to tow a small recreational boat, a pop-up camper, an ATV, a small hard-side RV, and more!

Few feelings are better than rolling down the windows on a nice day while the breeze flows through your hair and your favorite music is blaring through the speakers. The Explorer and the Highlander set themselves apart from the competition in this regard, as they both offer standard Apple CarPlay® and Android Auto™ capabilities.

What’s really important, though, is having a premium audio experience. They both come standard with six speakers, but the Ford has an available 14-speaker B&O® Sound System by Bang & Olufsen®, whereas the Toyota offers an optional 11-speaker system from JBL®.

The Ford’s three additional speakers offer a more immersive and wrap-around experience.

Your safe arrival is the most important thing. That’s why the Explorer and the Highlander come equipped with state-of-the-art safety monitoring features. Cameras and sensors constantly scan your surroundings to check for potential hazards you may have missed.

Both sets of wheels come with similar features that include:

• BLIS® (Blind Spot Information System) with Cross-Traffic Alert
• Pre-Collision Assist with Automatic Emergency Braking
• Lane-Keeping System
• Auto High-Beam Headlamps
• Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control

In addition to alerting you to potential hazards, some features—when certain conditions are met—may also provide mild autonomous capabilities to apply gentle braking and/or steering support to avoid a collision.

Parking is also a breeze in both the Ford and the Toyota, as they both offer available front and rear parking assist features with audio alerts that occur more frequently the closer you get to an object. However, the parking feature in the Ford, Active Park Assist 2.0, can locate a space for you—and, with the push of a button, it can park itself!

Unfortunately, the parking feature in the Toyota can’t compare.