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 Venue doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Rav4 are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Hyundai Venue doesn’t offer height-adjustable 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 Venue 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 Venue 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) offers optional Parking Assist with Automatic Braking that use rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. The Venue doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
The Rav4 offers all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Venue doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.
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 Venue only offers a rear monitor.
Both the Rav4 and the Venue have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, 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 blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.
The Toyota Rav4 weighs 642 to 1078 pounds more than the Hyundai Venue. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts. Crosswinds also affect lighter cars more.
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 Venue:
|
Rav4 |
Venue |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
152 |
335 |
Neck Injury Risk |
29.3% |
32% |
Neck Compression |
56 lbs. |
182 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
400/388 lbs. |
769/350 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
.8 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
37.4% |
48% |
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 Venue:
|
Rav4 |
Venue |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
83 |
154 |
Chest Movement |
.5 inches |
1.1 inches |
Abdominal Force |
138 lbs. |
215 lbs. |
Hip Force |
246 lbs. |
275 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
146 |
223 |
Spine Acceleration |
49 G’s |
82 G’s |
Hip Force |
508 lbs. |
843 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
299 |
343 |
Spine Acceleration |
36 G’s |
42 G’s |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Rav4 the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 53 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Venue last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2022.