Compare the2022 Toyota Rav4VS 2021 Hyundai Tucson

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Payload and Towing
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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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 Hyundai Tucson doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.

The Toyota Rav4 has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Tucson doesn’t offer knee airbags.

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 Tucson 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 Tucson doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

Both the Rav4 and the Tucson have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact 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, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, 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 Hyundai Tucson:

	Rav4	Tucson
	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 Hyundai Tucson:

	Rav4	Tucson
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	83	94
Chest Movement	.5 inches	.8 inches
Hip Force	246 lbs.	356 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	146	241
Spine Acceleration	49 G’s	55 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
Max Damage Depth	14 inches	14 inches
HIC	299	312
Spine Acceleration	36 G’s	48 G’s
Hip Force	835 lbs.	1028 lbs.

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

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Toyota Rav4 is safer than the Tucson:

	Rav4	Tucson
Overall Evaluation	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL
Structure	GOOD	MARGINAL
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	120	209
Neck Tension	134 lbs.	335 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Shoulder Deflection	.47 in	.75 in
Shoulder Force	178 lbs.	201 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	1.34 in	1.5 in
Torso Deflection Rate	7 MPH	8 MPH
Pelvis	ACCEPTABLE	POOR
Pelvis Force	1093 lbs.	1874 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Torso	GOOD	MARGINAL
Shoulder Deflection	.94 in	2.2 in
Shoulder Force	290 lbs.	379 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	.83 in	2.13 in
Torso Deflection Rate	8 MPH	14 MPH
Pelvis	GOOD	GOOD

Warranty

There are over 50 percent more Toyota dealers than there are Hyundai dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Rav4’s warranty.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota fourth in reliability, above the industry average. With 3 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is ranked 7th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Toyota second in reliability. Hyundai is ranked 6th.

Engine

The Rav4’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 42 more horsepower (203 vs. 161) and 34 lbs.-ft. more torque (184 vs. 150) than the Tucson’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Rav4’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 22 more horsepower (203 vs. 181) and 9 lbs.-ft. more torque (184 vs. 175) than the Tucson’s optional 2.4 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Toyota Rav4 is faster than the Hyundai Tucson:

	Rav4	Tucson 2.0	Tucson 2.4
Zero to 30 MPH	3.1 sec	4 sec	3.4 sec
Zero to 60 MPH	8.3 sec	11 sec	9.6 sec
45 to 65 MPH Passing	4.5 sec	6.9 sec	4.9 sec
Quarter Mile	16.5 sec	18.3 sec	17.3 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	88 MPH	80.2 MPH	83 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Rav4 gets better mileage than the Tucson:

			MPG
Rav4
	FWD	2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	27 city/35 hwy
	AWD	LE 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	27 city/34 hwy
		XLE 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	27 city/33 hwy
		Adventure/Limited 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	25 city/33 hwy
		TRD Off-Road 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	25 city/32 hwy
Tucson
	FWD	2.0 DOHC 4-cyl.	23 city/28 hwy
		2.4 DOHC 4-cyl.	22 city/28 hwy
	AWD	2.0 DOHC 4-cyl.	22 city/25 hwy
		2.4 DOHC 4-cyl.	21 city/26 hwy

In heavy traffic or at stop lights the Rav4 LE AWD/XLE/XLE Premium’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. The Tucson doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

Transmission

An eight-speed automatic is standard on the Toyota Rav4, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a six-speed automatic is available for the Tucson.

Brakes and Stopping

The Rav4 stops shorter than the Tucson:

	Rav4	Tucson
60 to 0 MPH	120 feet	128 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	140 feet	142 feet	Consumer Reports

Suspension and Handling

The Rav4 Adventure executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Tucson SE (27.5 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 27.9 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Rav4 LE/XLE has a 2 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Tucson (8.4 vs. 6.4 inches), allowing the Rav4 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Rav4 XLE Premium/Limited/Adventure/TRD Off-Road’s minimum ground clearance is 2.2 inches higher than on the Tucson (8.6 vs. 6.4 inches).

Chassis

The front grille of the Rav4 Adventure/Limited/TRD Off-Road uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Tucson doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

Passenger Space

The Rav4 has .7 inches more front shoulder room, .3 inches more rear headroom and .9 inches more rear shoulder room than the Tucson.

Cargo Capacity

The Rav4 has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Tucson with its rear seat up (37.6 vs. 31 cubic feet). The Rav4 has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Tucson with its rear seat folded (69.8 vs. 61.9 cubic feet).

The Rav4’s cargo area is larger than the Tucson’s in almost every dimension:

	Rav4	Tucson
Length to seat (2nd/1st)	40”	34.3”/69.5”
Max Width	59”	53”
Min Width	39.4”	40.7”
Height	36.6”	35.2”

A standard locking glovebox keeps your small valuables safer in the Rav4. The Tucson doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Payload and Towing

Maximum trailer towing in the Hyundai Tucson is limited to 2000 pounds. The Rav4 4WD offers up to a 3500 lbs. towing capacity.

Standard Trailer Sway Control on the Rav4 uses the Vehicle Stability Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Tucson doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The Rav4 has a higher maximum payload capacity than the Tucson (1230 vs. 1146 lbs.).

Ergonomics

When two different drivers share the Rav4 Limited, the memory seats make it convenient for both. Each setting activates different, customized memories for the driver’s seat position. The Tucson doesn’t offer memory seats.

The Rav4’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Tucson’s standard power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully. Only its driver’s window opens automatically.

If the windows are left open on the Rav4 the driver can close them all at the outside door handle. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows at the outside door handle or from a distance using the keyless remote. (This window function must be activated by your Toyota service department.) The driver of the Tucson can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

Both the Rav4 and the Tucson offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Rav4 has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Tucson doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

The Rav4 Adventure/TRD Off-Road has a 115-volt a/c outlet in the cargo area, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Tucson doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Rav4 is less expensive to operate than the Tucson because it costs $9 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Rav4 than the Tucson, including $10 less for a water pump, $296 less for a muffler, $18 less for fuel injection, $65 less for front struts and $41 less for a power steering pump.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Toyota Rav4 and the Hyundai Tucson, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Toyota Rav4 outsold the Hyundai Tucson by almost three to one during the 2021 model year.