The Q5’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Blazer doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.
Both the Q5 and Blazer have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Q5 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Blazer’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.
The Q5 has a standard Secondary Collision Brake Assist, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Blazer 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 Q5 has a standard backup collision prevention system that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Blazer doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Q5. But it costs extra on the Blazer.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Q5’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Blazer doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.
The Q5 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. A system to reveal vehicles in the Blazer’s blind spot costs extra.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Q5 has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Assist and Automatic Brake Activation automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Chevrolet charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Blazer and the Blazer’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert does not include automatic braking.
Both the Q5 and the Blazer have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, 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 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 Audi Q5 is safer than the Chevrolet Blazer:
|
Q5 |
Blazer |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Neck Injury Risk |
22% |
22% |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
80/49 lbs. |
104/435 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
187 |
313 |
Chest Compression |
.7 inches |
.8 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
34% |
43% |
Neck Compression |
30 lbs. |
140 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 Audi Q5 is safer than the Chevrolet Blazer:
|
Q5 |
Blazer |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
60 |
93 |
Chest Movement |
.6 inches |
.8 inches |
Abdominal Force |
98 lbs. |
157 lbs. |
Hip Force |
279 lbs. |
369 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
185 |
251 |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
219 |
265 |
Spine Acceleration |
35 G’s |
39 G’s |
Hip Force |
600 lbs. |
695 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Q5 the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 98 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Blazer has not been fully tested, yet.