For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Rav4 Hybrid 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 Honda CR-V doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
The Toyota Rav4 Hybrid 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 CR-V doesn’t offer knee airbags.
The Rav4 Hybrid 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 CR-V 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 Hybrid (except LE/Woodland) offers optional Parking Assist with Automatic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The CR-V doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Rav4 Hybrid. But it costs extra on the CR-V.
The Rav4 Hybrid XSE/Limited offers an optional Bird’s Eye View Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The CR-V only offers a rear monitor.
The Rav4 Hybrid has standard Safety Connect™, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to get turn-by-turn driving directions, remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The CR-V doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.
Both the Rav4 Hybrid and the CR-V have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, driver alert monitors, available blind spot warning systems 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 Hybrid is safer than the Honda CR-V:
|
Rav4 Hybrid |
CR-V |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
284 |
309 |
Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
.6 inches |
Neck Compression |
95 lbs. |
96 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 Hybrid is safer than the Honda CR-V:
|
Rav4 Hybrid |
CR-V |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Chest Movement |
.5 inches |
.6 inches |
Abdominal Force |
138 lbs. |
142 lbs. |
Hip Force |
246 lbs. |
310 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Spine Acceleration |
49 G’s |
50 G’s |
Hip Force |
508 lbs. |
567 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
299 |
386 |
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 Hybrid is safer than the CR-V:
|
Rav4 Hybrid |
CR-V |
Overall Evaluation |
ACCEPTABLE |
ACCEPTABLE |
Structure |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
120 |
151 |
Neck Tension |
134 lbs. |
290 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Shoulder Deflection |
.47 in |
.79 in |
Pelvis |
ACCEPTABLE |
ACCEPTABLE |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Torso |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Shoulder Deflection |
.94 in |
1.85 in |
Shoulder Force |
290 lbs. |
402 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
.83 in |
1.69 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
8 MPH |
11 MPH |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Pelvis Force |
692 lbs. |
1004 lbs. |