The Crown has standard Whiplash Injury Lessening Seats, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash Injury Lessening Seats system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Altima doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
With its standard Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection, the Toyota Crown is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Nissan Altima, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
|
Crown |
Altima |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
|
Crossing Child - DAY |
|
12 MPH |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH |
AVOIDED |
-11 MPH |
|
Crossing Adult - NIGHT |
|
12 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-5 MPH |
12 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-1 MPH |
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-7 MPH |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-5 MPH |
|
Parallel Adult - NIGHT |
|
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-11 MPH |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-5 MPH |
37 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-9 MPH |
Warning Issued-Brights |
2.4 sec |
1.3 sec |
37 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
No Slowing |
Warning Issued-Low beams |
1.8 sec |
No Warning |
The Crown has a standard Secondary Collision Brake, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Altima 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.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Crown. But it costs extra on the Altima.
Both the Crown and Altima have Rear Cross Traffic Alert, but the Crown Limited/Platinum/Nightshade has Parking Support Brake (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Altima’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.
Both the Crown and the Altima 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, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.
The Toyota Crown weighs 501 to 1090 pounds more than the Nissan Altima. The NHTSA advises that heavier cars are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.
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 Toyota Crown is much safer than the Altima:
|
Crown |
Altima |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
POOR |
Structure |
ACCEPTABLE |
POOR |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Head Injury Criterion |
132 |
562 |
Head Peak Forces |
no contact |
109 G’s |
Neck Tension |
223 lbs. |
625 lbs. |
Torso |
ACCEPTABLE |
POOR |
Shoulder Deflection |
.83 in |
2.09 in |
Shoulder Force |
245 lbs. |
402 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.54 in |
2.2 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
7 MPH |
11 MPH |
Pelvis |
ACCEPTABLE |
POOR |
Pelvis Force |
1071 lbs. |
1339 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Neck Tension |
67 lbs. |
201 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Shoulder Deflection |
1.02 in |
1.06 in |
Shoulder Force |
245 lbs. |
290 lbs. |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Pelvis Force |
759 lbs. |
892 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
The Toyota Crown 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 Altima is not a “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.