Where each one leads
Mitsubishi Montero
- Against cars of the same year, the Mitsubishi Montero comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 2% more often than average) than the Toyota Highlander (fails 28% more often than average).
Toyota Highlander
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2026 Toyota Highlander uses 9.9 l/100 km, the 2006 Mitsubishi Montero 16.0.
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| Mitsubishi Montero | Toyota Highlander | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 1983–2006 | 1997–2026 |
| New cars registered in Europe | 4,012 (2010–2019) | 11,164 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | — | 1,227 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | — | 563 |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Mitsubishi Montero | Toyota Highlander | |
|---|---|---|
| New York safety inspections failed | 2.1% | 2.0% |
| … against cars of the same year | +2% | +28% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | — | 5.8% |
| US owner complaints | 783 | 5,777 |
| Most complaints about | Service brakes, hydraulic | Power train |
| Model year with most complaints | 2001 (166) | 2021 (531) |
| US recall campaigns | 16 | 51 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 725 | 5,262 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 11 | 20 |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Safety
| Mitsubishi Montero | Toyota Highlander | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | — | 5★ (2026) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Mitsubishi Montero | Toyota Highlander | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 16.0 l/100 km (2006) | 9.9 l/100 km (2026) |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid | — | 8.0 l/100 km |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | — | 156 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 140 kW (188 hp) | 140 kW (188 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | 2,274 kg | 2,136 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | — | €81,945 |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).