For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Rav4 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 Buick Envision doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.
The Rav4 has a standard Secondary Collision Brake, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Envision doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Rav4 (except LE/XLE) offers optional Parking Assist with Automatic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Envision doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
The Rav4’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 Envision doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Rav4 and the Envision have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, 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 Toyota Rav4 is safer than the Buick Envision:
|
Rav4 |
Envision |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
.6 inches |
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 Toyota Rav4 is safer than the Buick Envision:
|
Rav4 |
Envision |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
83 |
128 |
Chest Movement |
.5 inches |
.7 inches |
Abdominal Force |
138 lbs. |
139 lbs. |
Hip Force |
246 lbs. |
261 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
146 |
311 |
Spine Acceleration |
49 G’s |
52 G’s |
Hip Force |
508 lbs. |
572 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
14 inches |
15 inches |
Spine Acceleration |
36 G’s |
36 G’s |
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 available headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Rav4 the rating of “Top Pick” for 2021, a rating granted to only 145 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Envision has not been tested, yet.