For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mazda CX-30 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
The Mazda CX-30 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 Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer knee airbags.
The CX-30 has standard Whiplash-Reducing Headrests, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Headrests system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the CX-30. But it costs extra on the Atlas Cross Sport.
The CX-30’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 Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the CX-30 and the Atlas Cross Sport have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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 and available 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 Mazda CX-30 is safer than the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport:
|
CX-30 |
Atlas Cross Sport |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
148 |
307 |
Neck Injury Risk |
26.7% |
30% |
Neck Stress |
216 lbs. |
412 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
18 lbs. |
59 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
179 |
277 |
Chest Compression |
.5 inches |
.7 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
33.5% |
39% |
Neck Compression |
85 lbs. |
117 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 Mazda CX-30 is safer than the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport:
|
CX-30 |
Atlas Cross Sport |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
197 |
208 |
Hip Force |
525 lbs. |
529 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
12 inches |
13 inches |
HIC |
178 |
309 |
Spine Acceleration |
30 G’s |
41 G’s |
Hip Force |
583 lbs. |
594 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
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 “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the CX-30 its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 129 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Atlas Cross Sport has not been fully tested, yet.