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 Kicks SV/SR are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Rav4 Hybrid doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Nissan Kicks has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Rav4 Hybrid doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.
The Kicks has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Rav4 Hybrid’s blind spot costs extra.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Kicks has a standard rear cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Rear cross-path warning costs extra on the Rav4 Hybrid.
Both the Kicks and the Rav4 Hybrid have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, 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, available daytime running lights, around view monitors and driver alert monitors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Nissan Kicks is safer than the Toyota Rav4 Hybrid:
|
Kicks |
Rav4 Hybrid |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
Neck Compression |
27 lbs. |
56 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
343/312 lbs. |
400/388 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 Nissan Kicks is safer than the Toyota Rav4 Hybrid:
|
Kicks |
Rav4 Hybrid |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Spine Acceleration |
47 G’s |
49 G’s |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
12 inches |
14 inches |
HIC |
218 |
299 |
Spine Acceleration |
30 G’s |
36 G’s |
Hip Force |
535 lbs. |
835 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.