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 Equinox EV are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Rav4 Prime doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Chevrolet Equinox EV 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 Rav4 Prime doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Equinox EV has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert with Rear Cross Traffic Braking, systems which detect vehicles approaching from the sides and can automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. Parking Support Brake costs extra on the Rav4 Prime XSE, and isn't offered on other Rav4 Prime models.
The Equinox EV’s optional 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 Rav4 Prime doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Equinox EV and the Rav4 Prime have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver 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, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.
The Chevrolet Equinox EV weighs 623 to 806 pounds more than the Toyota Rav4 Prime. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.