The Electrified GV70’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Leaf doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.
Both the Electrified GV70 and Leaf have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Electrified GV70 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 Leaf’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 Electrified GV70 has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Leaf doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.
Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the Electrified GV70 deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The Electrified GV70’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Leaf’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.
The Electrified GV70 has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Leaf doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.
Both the Electrified GV70 and Leaf have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Electrified GV70 has Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Leaf’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.
Both the Electrified GV70 and the Leaf 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, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras and rear cross-path warning.
The Genesis Electrified GV70 weighs 1081 to 1473 pounds more than the Nissan Leaf. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles 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 Genesis Electrified GV70 is safer than the Leaf:
|
Electrified GV70 |
Leaf |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Structure |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
57 |
211 |
Neck Compression |
-67 lbs. |
67 lbs. |
Shoulder Deflection |
.98 in |
1.14 in |
Pelvis |
ACCEPTABLE |
ACCEPTABLE |
Pelvis Force |
959 lbs. |
1093 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
130 |
158 |
Neck Compression |
-89 lbs. |
67 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Shoulder Deflection |
.43 in |
1.54 in |
Shoulder Force |
178 lbs. |
335 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.1 in |
1.38 in |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Pelvis Force |
736 lbs. |
937 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
The Genesis Electrified GV70 (built after April 2024) has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2024 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and an “Acceptable” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Leaf is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.