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 Camry Hybrid are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Model 3 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Camry Hybrid has standard Whiplash Injury Lessening Seats (WIL), which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the WIL system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Model 3 doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
The Camry Hybrid XLE/XSE offers an optional Bird’s Eye View Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Model 3 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.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Camry Hybrid’s optional Rear Cross-Traffic Alert uses sensors in the rear to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side and optional Parking Support Brake on the XLE/XSE automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. The Model 3 doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.
The Camry Hybrid has standard Safety Connect, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Model 3 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 Camry Hybrid and the Model 3 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and available blind spot warning systems.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Toyota Camry Hybrid is safer than the Tesla Model 3:
|
|
Camry Hybrid |
Model 3 |
|
|
Driver |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| Neck Injury Risk |
20% |
22% |
| Neck Compression |
13 lbs. |
42 lbs. |
|
|
Passenger |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| Neck Injury Risk |
21% |
33% |
| Neck Stress |
136 lbs. |
190 lbs. |
| Neck Compression |
45 lbs. |
101 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 Camry Hybrid is safer than the Tesla Model 3:
|
|
Camry Hybrid |
Model 3 |
|
|
Front Seat |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| Abdominal Force |
136 lbs. |
158 lbs. |
|
|
Into Pole |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| HIC |
164 |
384 |
| Spine Acceleration |
35 G’s |
41 G’s |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
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 Camry Hybrid its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 29 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Model 3 has not been fully tested, yet.