In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Traverse are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Pacifica doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Traverse has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Pacifica doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.
Both the Traverse and the Pacifica have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Chevrolet Traverse is safer than the Chrysler Pacifica:
|
Traverse |
Pacifica |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Neck Injury Risk |
15.6% |
29% |
Neck Stress |
198 lbs. |
230 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
53/40 lbs. |
75/194 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Chevrolet Traverse is safer than the Chrysler Pacifica:
|
Traverse |
Pacifica |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
69 |
72 |
Chest Movement |
.9 inches |
1 inches |
Hip Force |
204 lbs. |
395 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Spine Acceleration |
39 G’s |
54 G’s |
Hip Force |
716 lbs. |
764 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
251 |
293 |
Spine Acceleration |
34 G’s |
50 G’s |
Hip Force |
554 lbs. |
616 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, with its optional vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, with its optional vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight’s “Acceptable” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Traverse the rating of “Top Pick” for 2021, a rating granted to only 128 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Pacifica last would have qualified as a “Top Pick” in 2019.