The Acadia Denali’s optional pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Highlander Hybrid doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.
For enhanced safety, the front shoulder belts of the GMC Acadia are height-adjustable, and the middle seat shoulder belts have child comfort guides to move the belt to properly fit children. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages children to buckle up. The Toyota Highlander Hybrid doesn’t offer comfort guides on its middle seat belts.
The Acadia has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Highlander Hybrid doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.
Both the Acadia and the Highlander Hybrid have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the GMC Acadia is safer than the Toyota Highlander Hybrid:
|
Acadia |
Highlander Hybrid |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
285 |
292 |
Neck Injury Risk |
21% |
38.2% |
Neck Stress |
191 lbs. |
347 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
29 lbs. |
55 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
129/383 lbs. |
321/243 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
319 |
328 |
Chest Compression |
.6 inches |
.6 inches |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
210/60 lbs. |
545/323 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 GMC Acadia is safer than the Toyota Highlander Hybrid:
|
Acadia |
Highlander Hybrid |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Hip Force |
243 lbs. |
300 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
14 inches |
15 inches |
Spine Acceleration |
36 G’s |
41 G’s |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.