Compare the2022 Kia NiroVS 2021 Toyota Rav4 Hybrid

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Ergonomics

Safety

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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 Niro are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Rav4 Hybrid doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Niro has standard Active Headrests, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Headrests system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Rav4 Hybrid doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Both the Niro and the Rav4 Hybrid have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Kia Niro is safer than the Toyota Rav4 Hybrid:

	Niro	Rav4 Hybrid
	Driver
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	139	152
Neck Injury Risk	27%	29.3%
Neck Stress	291 lbs.	306 lbs.
Neck Compression	37 lbs.	56 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	74/269 lbs.	400/388 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 post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Kia Niro is safer than the Toyota Rav4 Hybrid:

	Niro	Rav4 Hybrid
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	11 inches	14 inches
HIC	214	299
Spine Acceleration	31 G’s	36 G’s
Hip Force	712 lbs.	835 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Niro is 3.4% less likely to roll over than the Rav4 Hybrid.

Warranty

The Niro comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Rav4 Hybrid’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the Niro 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Toyota covers the Rav4 Hybrid. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Rav4 Hybrid ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia 6th in initial quality, above the industry average. With 10 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is ranked 13th.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia third in reliability, above the industry average. With 1 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is ranked fourth.

Brakes and Stopping

The Niro stops much shorter than the Rav4 Hybrid:

	Niro	Rav4 Hybrid
60 to 0 MPH	122 feet	143 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

The Niro LX/LXS/EX Premium’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Rav4 Hybrid LE/XLE’s standard 65 series tires. The Niro Touring SE’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Rav4 Hybrid XSE/Limited’s 60 series tires.

Suspension and Handling

The Niro has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Rav4 Hybrid’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

The Niro Touring SE handles at .82 G’s, while the Rav4 Hybrid XSE pulls only .75 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Niro Touring SE executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.1 seconds quicker than the Rav4 Hybrid XSE (27.3 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 28.4 seconds @ .61 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Niro’s turning circle is 1.3 feet tighter than the Rav4 Hybrid’s (34.8 feet vs. 36.1 feet).

Chassis

The Kia Niro may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 550 pounds less than the Toyota Rav4 Hybrid.

The Niro is 9.4 inches shorter than the Rav4 Hybrid, making the Niro easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Passenger Space

The Niro has .6 inches more front headroom, .7 inches more front legroom and .6 inches more rear hip room than the Rav4 Hybrid.

Ergonomics

The Niro’s variable intermittent wipers have an adjustable delay to allow the driver to choose a setting that best clears the windshield during light rain or mist. The Rav4 Hybrid LE’s standard fixed intermittent wipers only have one fixed delay setting, so the driver will have to manually switch them between slow and intermittent.

The Niro has a standard automatic headlight on/off feature. When the ignition is on, the headlights automatically turn on at dusk and off after dawn. The Rav4 Hybrid has an automatic headlight on/off feature standard only on the XLE/XSE/Limited.

When the Niro with available tilt-down mirrors is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Rav4 Hybrid’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.