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 Highlander Hybrid are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Q4 e-tron doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Toyota Highlander Hybrid has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Q4 e-tron doesn’t offer knee airbags.
The Highlander Hybrid 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 Q4 e-tron doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
With its standard Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection, the Toyota Highlander Hybrid is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Audi Q4 e-tron, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
|
Highlander Hybrid |
Q4 e-tron |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
|
Crossing Child - DAY |
|
12 MPH |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH |
-22 MPH |
-15 MPH |
|
Crossing Adult - NIGHT |
|
12 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
12 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-21 MPH |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-24 MPH |
|
Parallel Adult - NIGHT |
|
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
37 MPH Brights |
-25 MPH |
-21 MPH |
37 MPH Low beams |
-25 MPH |
-22 MPH |
Warning Issued-Low beams |
2 sec |
1.8 sec |
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Highlander Hybrid Limited/Platinum has a standard Parking Support Brake that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Q4 e-tron doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Highlander Hybrid. But it costs extra on the Q4 e-tron.
The Highlander Hybrid’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 Q4 e-tron doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Highlander Hybrid and the Q4 e-tron have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Toyota Highlander Hybrid is safer than the Audi Q4 e-tron:
|
Highlander Hybrid |
Q4 e-tron |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
Chest Compression |
.6 inches |
.8 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
28.4% |
37.1% |
Neck Compression |
90 lbs. |
132 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 post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Toyota Highlander Hybrid is safer than the Audi Q4 e-tron:
|
Highlander Hybrid |
Q4 e-tron |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
3 Stars |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.