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 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer pretensioners for its 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 Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer knee airbags.
The Rav4’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Rav4 and the Atlas Cross Sport 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, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, 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 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport:
|
Rav4 |
Atlas Cross Sport |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
152 |
307 |
Neck Injury Risk |
29.3% |
30% |
Neck Stress |
306 lbs. |
412 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
56 lbs. |
59 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
.7 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
37.4% |
39% |
Neck Compression |
95 lbs. |
117 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 Toyota Rav4 is safer than the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport:
|
Rav4 |
Atlas Cross Sport |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
146 |
208 |
Hip Force |
508 lbs. |
529 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
299 |
309 |
Spine Acceleration |
36 G’s |
41 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 Atlas Cross Sport does not qualify as a “Top Safety Pick.”