For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Volkswagen Golf R 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 Chevrolet Camaro doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Volkswagen Golf R are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Chevrolet Camaro doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.
The Golf R has standard Autonomous Emergency Braking, which use forward mounted sensors to warn the driver of a possible collision ahead. If the driver doesn’t react and the system determines a collision is imminent, it automatically applies the brakes at full-force in order to reduce the force of the crash or avoid it altogether. The Camaro offers an available collision warning system without the automated brake feature that would prevent or reduce the collision if the driver fails to react.
The Golf R 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 Camaro 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.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Golf R has standard Maneuver Braking that use rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. The Camaro doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
The Golf R has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Camaro doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.
The Golf R’s lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. The Camaro doesn’t offer a lane departure warning system.
The Golf R has standard Park Distance Control to help warn the driver about vehicles, pedestrians or other obstacles behind or in front of their vehicle. The Camaro doesn’t offer a front parking aid.
The Golf R has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them and moves the vehicle back into its lane. A system to reveal vehicles in the Camaro’s blind spot costs extra.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Golf R has standard Rear Traffic Alert and automatically engage the brakes. Chevrolet charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Camaro and its not available on the LS/LT1 and the Camaro’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert does not include automatic braking.
The Golf R’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 Camaro doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Golf R and the Camaro have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights and rearview cameras.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) performs roof strength tests. In that test the Golf R earned the top rating of “Good” because its roof supported over four times the Golf R’s weight before being crushed five inches. The Camaro was rated lower at “Acceptable.”
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 standard headlight’s “Acceptable” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Golf R its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 128 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Camaro is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick.”