For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Subaru Forester have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Chevrolet Trax doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.
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 Forester are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Trax doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Forester has standard Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Trax doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
The Forester has standard Pre-Collision Braking, which use forward mounted sensors to warn the driver of a possible collision ahead. If the driver doesn’t react and the system determines a collision is imminent, it automatically applies the brakes at full-force in order to reduce the force of the crash or avoid it altogether. The Trax doesn't offer collision warning or crash mitigation brakes.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Forester (except Base/Premium) offers optional Reverse Automatic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Trax doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Forester. But it costs extra on the Trax.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Forester Premium/Sport/Wilderness/Limited/Touring’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Trax doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.
The Forester’s lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. The Trax doesn’t offer a lane departure warning system.
The Forester offers optional parking sensors to help warn the driver about vehicles, pedestrians or other obstacles behind or in front of their vehicle. The Trax doesn’t offer a front parking aid.
The Forester Touring’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Trax doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Forester and the Trax have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems 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 Subaru Forester is safer than the Chevrolet Trax:
|
Forester |
Trax |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Neck Injury Risk |
23% |
26% |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
248/368 lbs. |
363/313 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Neck Injury Risk |
31% |
38% |
Neck Compression |
103 lbs. |
104 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
105/93 lbs. |
249/289 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 Subaru Forester is safer than the Chevrolet Trax:
|
Forester |
Trax |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
66 |
73 |
Chest Movement |
.6 inches |
.7 inches |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Hip Force |
670 lbs. |
672 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
121 |
382 |
Spine Acceleration |
40 G’s |
46 G’s |
Hip Force |
673 lbs. |
707 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, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Forester its highest rating: “Top Pick Plus” for 2021, a rating granted to only 73 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Trax last would have qualified as only a “Top Pick” in 2016.