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 XT4 are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The HR-V doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Cadillac XT4 has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help 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.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The XT4 Premium Luxury/Sport offers optional Reverse Automatic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The HR-V doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
The XT4 Premium Luxury/Sport offers an optional Surround Vision 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 XT4’s standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert uses sensors in the rear to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side and Rear Cross Traffic Braking automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. The HR-V doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.
The XT4 has standard OnStar®, 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 XT4 and the HR-V have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras and available all wheel drive.
The Cadillac XT4 weighs 551 to 976 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 Cadillac XT4 is safer than the Honda HR-V:
|
XT4 |
HR-V |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
190 |
481 |
Neck Stress |
218 lbs. |
244 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
Neck Injury Risk |
34% |
41% |
Neck Stress |
131 lbs. |
218 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
73/175 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 Cadillac XT4 is safer than the Honda HR-V:
|
XT4 |
HR-V |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
114 |
148 |
Chest Movement |
.8 inches |
.8 inches |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
169 |
357 |
Spine Acceleration |
51 G’s |
59 G’s |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Spine Acceleration |
35 G’s |
48 G’s |
Hip Force |
522 lbs. |
799 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.