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 Subaru Impreza 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 Impreza 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.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Rav4 Adventure/Limited AWD/TRD Off-Road’s standard Downhill Assist Control allows you to creep down safely. The Impreza doesn’t offer Downhill Assist Control.
The Rav4 Limited/TRD Off-Road offers an optional Bird’s Eye View Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Impreza only offers a rear monitor.
Both the Rav4 and the Impreza 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 all wheel drive, 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 Toyota Rav4 is safer than the Subaru Impreza:
|
Rav4 |
Impreza |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
.7 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 Subaru Impreza:
|
Rav4 |
Impreza |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
83 |
165 |
Chest Movement |
.5 inches |
1 inches |
Abdominal Force |
138 lbs. |
293 lbs. |
Hip Force |
246 lbs. |
400 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
146 |
363 |
Spine Acceleration |
49 G’s |
79 G’s |
Hip Force |
508 lbs. |
715 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Spine Acceleration |
36 G’s |
49 G’s |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.