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 UX 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 Lexus UX 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 doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.
Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the UX deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The UX’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Rav4’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.
The UX has standard Whiplash Injury Lessening Front Seatbacks, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash Injury Lessening Front Seatbacks system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Rav4 doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
The UX 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 UX has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Alert to warn the driver of approaching traffic and automatically engage the brakes to help avoid a collision. Toyota charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Rav4.
Both the UX and the Rav4 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee 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, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and rear parking sensors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Lexus UX is safer than the Toyota Rav4:
|
|
UX |
Rav4 |
|
|
Driver |
|
| STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
| HIC |
116 |
152 |
| Neck Compression |
17 lbs. |
56 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 Lexus UX is safer than the Toyota Rav4:
|
|
UX |
Rav4 |
|
|
Front Seat |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| HIC |
52 |
83 |
|
|
Rear Seat |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| HIC |
96 |
146 |
| Spine Acceleration |
46 G’s |
49 G’s |
|
|
Into Pole |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| Max Damage Depth |
12 inches |
14 inches |
| HIC |
292 |
299 |
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 Lexus UX is safer than the Rav4:
|
|
UX |
Rav4 |
| Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
| Structure |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
| Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Torso |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Torso Max Deflection |
1.02 in |
1.34 in |
| Pelvis |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
| Pelvis Force |
892 lbs. |
1093 lbs. |
| Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
| Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Head Injury Criterion |
150 |
542 |
| Head Peak Forces |
no contact |
104 G’s |
| Neck Tension |
112 lbs. |
312 lbs. |
| Neck Compression |
67 lbs. |
223 lbs. |
| Torso |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Torso Deflection Rate |
6 MPH |
8 MPH |
| Head Protection |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the UX is 1.5% to 1.9% less likely to roll over than the Rav4.
The Lexus UX 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.