In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the NX are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Corsair doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the NX’s standard Downhill Assist Control allows you to creep down safely. The Corsair doesn’t offer Downhill Assist Control.
Both the NX and Corsair have rear cross-traffic warning, but the NX offers optional Parking Support Brake (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Corsair’s Cross-Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.
Both the NX and the Corsair have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.
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 Lexus NX is much safer than the Corsair:
|
NX |
Corsair |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Structure |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
197 |
391 |
Head Peak Forces |
no contact |
93 G’s |
Neck Tension |
156 lbs. |
379 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Shoulder Deflection |
.55 in |
1.1 in |
Shoulder Force |
201 lbs. |
223 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
.98 in |
1.77 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
4 MPH |
8 MPH |
Pelvis |
ACCEPTABLE |
MARGINAL |
Pelvis Force |
915 lbs. |
1160 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.83 in |
1.54 in |
Shoulder Force |
223 lbs. |
379 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.1 in |
1.5 in |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Pelvis Force |
669 lbs. |
1093 lbs. |
For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the NX its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 30 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Corsair last would have qualified as only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2019.