2019 Toyota RAV4 vs 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee

The 2019 Toyota RAV4 immediately caught the eye with its big, chunky design and sharp edges, clearly influenced by the Toyota Tacoma pickup truck. The exterior gave off an aggressive and futuristic vibe, projecting strength that was echoed in its side-profile styling and even the rear, where the taillights drew inspiration from Toyota's luxury brand, Lexus. While the aggressive exterior sported elements like a character line breaking up the rear C-pillar, this design trait wasn’t universally praised for its aesthetics. The RAV4 offered a mix of monotone and two-tone color options, some with a contrasting roof that added a touch of flair.

Inside, the RAV4's cabin shifted gears dramatically to a simpler, more elegant design. The floating touchscreen centralized many features, while other controls were neatly packaged into a “pod” running from the dash to the cupholders. The trims ranged from LE, XLE, XLE Premium, Adventure, to Limited, each piling on more premium features. The base LE came with 17-inch wheels, LED headlights, and low-profile roof rails, while the XLE added comfort and convenience features like a power moonroof and dual-zone climate control. The XLE Premium and Adventure trims carried forward with larger wheels and more rugged features, respectively, and the Limited trim topped it off with chrome-finished wheels, a unique grille, and more luxurious interior touches.

In contrast, the 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee held on to its decade-old design with pride, aging remarkably well with classic styling cues like the 7-slot grille and trapezoidal wheel arches. The traditional look was balanced and proportioned well, showing attention to detail with its multiple aluminum wheel designs. The base Laredo trim sat at just under $32,000 and required an additional $2,000 for four-wheel drive. The Grand Cherokee had 11 additional trims, from the style-focused Altitude to the off-road-ready Trailhawk, and extreme performance Trackhawk that could push the Jeep's price above $100,000.

The Grand Cherokee Limited X test vehicle, an addition for 2019, featured SRT and Trackhawk-inspired performance aesthetics, including a vented hood, revised bumpers, and unique 20-inch wheels. The interior offered upscale touches like perforated leather and a dark headliner, but also showed some cost-cutting with hard plastics and a few loose-feeling components.

Under the hood, the 2019 Toyota RAV4 sported a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine, producing 203 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque, paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission. This engine powered either the front wheels or an available all-wheel-drive system. Toyota offered two AWD flavors: a basic one for most trims and a torque-vectoring version for the Adventure and Limited trims. Although the 2.5-liter engine was adequate for highway speeds and overtaking, it struggled with low-end power, making it feel sluggish from a standstill and noisy during intense acceleration. Despite some steering twitchiness and body roll, the RAV4's ride quality generally absorbed road bumps well, though it didn't boast the refined dynamics of competitors like the Honda CR-V or the Ford Escape.

Fuel economy was impressive. The front-wheel-drive model offered 26 mpg in the city and 35 on the highway, while the all-wheel-drive variant returned 27 mpg city and 34 highway. The torque-vectoring version managed 25 mpg city and 33 highway. Our practical usage yielded a combined 29.3 mpg for the AWD model.

The 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee offered a more powerful lineup of engines, starting with a 3.6-liter V6 making 295 horsepower. For those seeking more muscle, engine options included a 360-hp 5.7-liter V8, a 425-hp 6.4-liter V8 in the SRT, and the mind-boggling 707-hp supercharged 6.2-liter V8 in the Trackhawk. An 8-speed automatic managed power delivery, with several 4WD systems available. The Quadra-Drive II system on the Limited X featured a 2-speed transfer case, electronically activated 4-Lo gearing, and drove comfortably on various terrains despite its all-season tires.

Fuel economy suffered versus the RAV4, even with the base V6. Jeep claimed a combined rating of 21 mpg, but real-world driving revealed averages closer to 18.3 mpg, dropping to 17.4 mpg in city-heavy driving. The V8 engines, particularly the Trackhawk, saw even poorer fuel economy, averaging 13.1 mpg.

Driving the Grand Cherokee on pavement provided a rugged feel, easily handling road imperfections, though it felt heavy and slow in steering, and brake performance diminished on long downhill stretches. The SRT and Trackhawk trims, with advanced braking systems, offered a performance trade-up but at a high price.

The 2019 Toyota RAV4 featured a well-thought-out interior with a clean yet practical design. The center stack neatly housed climate controls, a space for small items, drive-mode controls, and the shifter, which was compact to save space. Storage options included a deep center console bin and a tray on the passenger side. Cargo space tallied at 37.6 cubic feet with the rear seats up and expanded to 69.8 cubic feet when the seats were folded—enough to outdo rivals like the CX-5 and Cherokee, but still falling short of leaders like the CR-V and Forester.

The Grand Cherokee, while roomy enough for five, had less generous cargo space. It offered 36.3 cubic feet behind the rear seats and 68.3 cubic feet with the seats down. The front seats were power-adjustable and heated, ensuring comfort, but the hard plastic back panels posed a discomfort risk for rear passengers. The rear seat amenities included A/C vents, dual USB ports, and a power outlet. Storage within the cabin was practical enough, though perhaps not as spacious as expected from an adventure-oriented SUV.

The 2019 Toyota RAV4’s technology suite started with a 7-inch touchscreen on the base LE trim, featuring the latest Entune 3 infotainment system, Apple CarPlay, Bluetooth, a USB port, and WiFi hotspot. The XLE trim added multiple USB ports, and higher trims like the Adventure got a panoramic reversing camera, a 7-inch instrument panel display, and an 8-inch infotainment screen option. Despite its user-friendly interface and physical dials for primary functions, the system lacked Android Auto at the time.

The 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee came with a standard 7-inch touchscreen on the Laredo trim and a more advanced Uconnect system from the next trim up, featuring Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, satellite radio, voice recognition, and navigation. Connectivity for Bluetooth was seamless, and the voice recognition system worked impressively well for finding points of interest. The higher trims provided superior sound systems, with the test vehicle featuring a good 9-speaker Alpine system and an available 19-speaker Harman Kardon system on pricier versions.

The 2019 Toyota RAV4 included a comprehensive suite of standard safety features like front and side-impact airbags, a reversing camera, traction control, and tire-pressure monitoring. It also boasted Toyota Safety Sense 2.0, which added forward-collision warning, lane-departure warning, automatic high-beams, dynamic radar cruise control, traffic-sign detection, and Lane-Tracing Assist.

The 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee, while offering modern driver-assistance technologies, had concerning safety ratings. Standard features included blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert. The Advanced Active Safety Group package added adaptive cruise control, forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, and parking-assist features. Despite this, the Grand Cherokee received a Marginal rating from the IIHS for small-overlap frontal-impact protection for the driver and a Poor rating for the front passenger, alongside a mediocre 3-star rollover resistance rating for rear-drive models.