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 HR-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 HR-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 HR-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 HR-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 HR-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 HR-V only offers a rear monitor.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Rav4 Hybrid’s optional rear cross-path warning system uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. The HR-V doesn’t offer a cross-path warning system.
The Rav4 Hybrid’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 HR-V doesn’t offer a driver alert 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 HR-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 HR-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, daytime running lights, rearview cameras and available blind spot warning systems.
The Toyota Rav4 Hybrid weighs 568 to 899 pounds more than the Honda HR-V. 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 Hybrid is safer than the Honda HR-V:
|
Rav4 Hybrid |
HR-V |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
.5 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
37.4% |
41% |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
340/190 lbs. |
574/500 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 HR-V:
|
Rav4 Hybrid |
HR-V |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
83 |
148 |
Chest Movement |
.5 inches |
.8 inches |
Abdominal Force |
138 lbs. |
158 lbs. |
Hip Force |
246 lbs. |
321 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
146 |
357 |
Spine Acceleration |
49 G’s |
59 G’s |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Spine Acceleration |
36 G’s |
48 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 Hybrid is much safer than the HR-V:
|
Rav4 Hybrid |
HR-V |
Overall Evaluation |
ACCEPTABLE |
POOR |
Structure |
GOOD |
POOR |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
120 |
325 |
Neck Tension |
134 lbs. |
335 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.47 in |
1.34 in |
Shoulder Force |
178 lbs. |
335 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.34 in |
1.42 in |
Pelvis |
ACCEPTABLE |
MARGINAL |
Pelvis Force |
1093 lbs. |
1182 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.94 in |
1.57 in |
Shoulder Force |
290 lbs. |
402 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
.83 in |
1.57 in |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Pelvis Force |
692 lbs. |
1316 lbs. |
For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Rav4 Hybrid the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2022, a rating granted to only 164 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The HR-V has not been fully tested, yet.