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 Atlas Cross Sport are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The QX55 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Atlas Cross Sport has a standard Automatic Post-Collision Braking System, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The QX55 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.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Atlas Cross Sport 4Motion’s standard Hill Descent Assist allows you to creep down safely. The QX55 doesn’t offer Hill Descent Assist.
Both the Atlas Cross Sport and QX55 have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Atlas Cross Sport has Rear Traffic Alert (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The QX55’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.
Both the Atlas Cross Sport and the QX55 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, 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, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport is safer than the Infiniti QX55:
|
Atlas Cross Sport |
QX55 |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
277 |
285 |
Chest Compression |
.7 inches |
1.2 inches |
Neck Stress |
129 lbs. |
219 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
297/97 lbs. |
452/534 lbs. |
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 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport is safer than the QX55:
|
Atlas Cross Sport |
QX55 |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Structure |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
42 |
141 |
Neck Tension |
156 lbs. |
178 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.83 in |
1.06 in |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.1 in |
1.73 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
4 MPH |
9 MPH |
Pelvis Force |
1205 lbs. |
1316 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Torso |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Shoulder Deflection |
.43 in |
.67 in |
Shoulder Force |
178 lbs. |
201 lbs. |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
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 Atlas Cross Sport its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 50 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The QX55 has not been fully tested, yet.