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 Jeep Compass doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
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 Compass 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 uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Compass doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
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 Compass doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Rav4 and the Compass have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee 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, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, 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 Jeep Compass:
|
Rav4 |
Compass |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
152 |
196 |
Neck Injury Risk |
29.3% |
41% |
Neck Stress |
306 lbs. |
445 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
400/388 lbs. |
326/489 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
.8 inches |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
340/190 lbs. |
299/387 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 Jeep Compass:
|
Rav4 |
Compass |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
83 |
102 |
Chest Movement |
.5 inches |
.8 inches |
Hip Force |
246 lbs. |
335 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Spine Acceleration |
49 G’s |
56 G’s |
Hip Force |
508 lbs. |
928 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
299 |
355 |
Spine Acceleration |
36 G’s |
39 G’s |
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 Compass:
|
Rav4 |
Compass |
Overall Evaluation |
ACCEPTABLE |
MARGINAL |
Structure |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
120 |
189 |
Neck Tension |
134 lbs. |
268 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.47 in |
1.02 in |
Shoulder Force |
178 lbs. |
245 lbs. |
Torso Deflection Rate |
7 MPH |
9 MPH |
Pelvis |
ACCEPTABLE |
POOR |
Pelvis Force |
1093 lbs. |
1517 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.94 in |
2.13 in |
Shoulder Force |
290 lbs. |
491 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
.83 in |
1.77 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
8 MPH |
14 MPH |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Pelvis Force |
692 lbs. |
937 lbs. |
Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Rav4, with its four-star roll-over rating, is 4.3% to 5.1% less likely to roll over than the Compass, which received a three-star rating.