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 Tucson are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Rav4 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Tucson 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 Rav4’s blind spot costs extra.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Tucson has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning and Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Toyota charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Rav4.
Both the Tucson and the Rav4 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, 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, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, 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 Hyundai Tucson is safer than the Toyota Rav4:
|
Tucson |
Rav4 |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
Neck Injury Risk |
24% |
29.3% |
Neck Stress |
164 lbs. |
306 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
14 lbs. |
56 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
27/60 lbs. |
400/388 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
.4 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
35% |
37.4% |
Neck Stress |
125 lbs. |
258 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
59 lbs. |
95 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
51/13 lbs. |
340/190 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 Hyundai Tucson is safer than the Toyota Rav4:
|
Tucson |
Rav4 |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
71 |
83 |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
37 |
146 |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Hip Force |
614 lbs. |
835 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 Hyundai Tucson is safer than the Rav4:
|
Tucson |
Rav4 |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Structure |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Neck Compression |
-45 lbs. |
67 lbs. |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Pelvis Force |
759 lbs. |
1093 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head Injury Criterion |
116 |
542 |
Head Peak Forces |
no contact |
104 G’s |
Neck Tension |
45 lbs. |
312 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
-134 lbs. |
223 lbs. |
Shoulder Force |
245 lbs. |
290 lbs. |
Torso Deflection Rate |
5 MPH |
8 MPH |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Pelvis Force |
669 lbs. |
692 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
The Hyundai Tucson achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Rav4 last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2023.