Both the Aviator and QX80 have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Aviator 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 QX80’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 Aviator has standard Post Collision Braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The QX80 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.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Aviator’s optional Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The QX80 doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.
The Aviator’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 QX80 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
For better protection of the passenger compartment, the Aviator uses safety cell construction with a three-dimensional high-strength frame that surrounds the passenger compartment. It provides extra impact protection and a sturdy mounting location for door hardware and side impact beams. The QX80 uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.
Both the Aviator and the QX80 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear 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, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors, rear cross-path warning and available all wheel drive.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Lincoln Aviator is safer than the Infiniti QX80:
|
|
Aviator |
QX80 |
| OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
3 Stars |
|
|
Driver |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
2 Stars |
| HIC |
125 |
384 |
| Neck Injury Risk |
26.3% |
36% |
| Neck Stress |
167 lbs. |
439 lbs. |
| Neck Compression |
26 lbs. |
95 lbs. |
| Leg Forces (l/r) |
230/210 lbs. |
983/651 lbs. |
|
|
Passenger |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
3 Stars |
| Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
1.2 inches |
| Neck Injury Risk |
29.2% |
37% |
| Neck Stress |
187 lbs. |
219 lbs. |
| Leg Forces (l/r) |
380/405 lbs. |
452/534 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 Lincoln Aviator is safer than the Infiniti QX80:
|
|
Aviator |
QX80 |
|
|
Front Seat |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| Chest Movement |
.9 inches |
1 inches |
|
|
Into Pole |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| Max Damage Depth |
12 inches |
16 inches |
| HIC |
288 |
437 |
| Hip Force |
573 lbs. |
684 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Aviator, with its four-star roll-over rating, is 6.8% to 9% less likely to roll over than the QX80, which received a three-star rating.