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 Jeep Renegade doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
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 Renegade 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.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Rav4 Hybrid. But it costs extra on the Renegade.
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 Renegade only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.
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 Renegade doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Rav4 Hybrid and the Renegade have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee 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, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, 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 Jeep Renegade:
|
Rav4 Hybrid |
Renegade |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
152 |
207 |
Neck Stress |
306 lbs. |
332 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
284 |
363 |
Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
.7 inches |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
340/190 lbs. |
290/322 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 Jeep Renegade:
|
Rav4 Hybrid |
Renegade |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
83 |
161 |
Chest Movement |
.5 inches |
1 inches |
Abdominal Force |
138 lbs. |
161 lbs. |
Hip Force |
246 lbs. |
328 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
3 Stars |
HIC |
146 |
286 |
Spine Acceleration |
49 G’s |
73 G’s |
Hip Force |
508 lbs. |
1157 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
299 |
314 |
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 Hybrid is safer than the Renegade:
|
Rav4 Hybrid |
Renegade |
Overall Evaluation |
ACCEPTABLE |
MARGINAL |
Structure |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
120 |
128 |
Neck Tension |
134 lbs. |
223 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
67 lbs. |
89 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.47 in |
1.02 in |
Shoulder Force |
178 lbs. |
245 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.34 in |
1.42 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
7 MPH |
8 MPH |
Pelvis |
ACCEPTABLE |
MARGINAL |
Pelvis Force |
1093 lbs. |
1249 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.94 in |
1.85 in |
Shoulder Force |
290 lbs. |
446 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
.83 in |
1.77 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
8 MPH |
12 MPH |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Pelvis Force |
692 lbs. |
982 lbs. |
Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Rav4 Hybrid is 2.4% to 7.3% less likely to roll over than the Renegade.
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 Renegade last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2019.