Compare the2023 Toyota Rav4VS 2022 BMW X1

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Payload and Towing
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Rav4 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The BMW X1 doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Rav4 are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The BMW X1 doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests front crash prevention systems. With a score of 6 points, IIHS rates the Pre-Collision System in the Rav4 as “Superior.” The X1 scores only 4 points and is rated only “Advanced.”

The Rav4 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 X1 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.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Rav4 (except LE) offers optional Parking Assist with Automatic Braking that use rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. The X1 doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Rav4 Limited/TRD Off-Road offers an optional Bird’s Eye View Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The X1 only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

The Rav4’s optional blind spot warning system uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. The X1 doesn’t offer a system to reveal objects in the driver’s blind spots.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Rav4’s optional rear cross-path warning system uses sensors in the rear to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. The X1 doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.

Both the Rav4 and the X1 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and available all wheel drive.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Toyota Rav4 is safer than the BMW X1:

	Rav4	X1
	Driver
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	152	328
Neck Injury Risk	29.3%	32%
Neck Stress	306 lbs.	360 lbs.
Neck Compression	56 lbs.	60 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Compression	.4 inches	.5 inches
Leg Forces (l/r)	340/190 lbs.	309/268 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 Toyota Rav4 is safer than the BMW X1:

	Rav4	X1
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	83	143
Chest Movement	.5 inches	.8 inches
Abdominal Force	138 lbs.	154 lbs.
Hip Force	246 lbs.	486 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	146	193
Spine Acceleration	49 G’s	65 G’s
Hip Force	508 lbs.	637 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	36 G’s	39 G’s

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Rav4 the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 53 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The X1 last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2018.

Warranty

Toyota’s powertrain warranty covers the Rav4 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than BMW covers the X1. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the X1 ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are almost 4 times as many Toyota dealers as there are BMW dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Rav4’s warranty.

Reliability

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Rav4’s reliability 21 points higher than the X1.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than BMW vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota above average in long-term dependability. With 34 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, BMW is rated lower.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than BMW vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Toyota first in overall reliability. BMW is ranked third.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Rav4 gets better mileage than the X1:

			MPG
Rav4
	FWD	XLE 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	27 city/34 hwy
		LE/Limited 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	27 city/35 hwy
	AWD	LE 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	27 city/34 hwy
		XLE 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	27 city/33 hwy
		Adventure/Limited 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	25 city/33 hwy
		TRD Off-Road 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	25 city/32 hwy
X1
	FWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	24 city/33 hwy
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	23 city/31 hwy

Brakes and Stopping

The Rav4 stops much shorter than the X1:

	Rav4	X1
70 to 0 MPH	161 feet	180 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	131 feet	134 feet	Consumer Reports
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	140 feet	142 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Rav4 XLE Premium/Adventure/Limited’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the X1 (235/55R19 vs. 225/50R18).

Suspension and Handling

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Rav4 is 1.2 inches wider in the front and 1.8 inches wider in the rear than the track on the X1.

For better maneuverability, the Rav4 LE/XLE’s turning circle is 1.3 feet tighter than the X1’s (36.1 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Rav4 LE/XLE has a 1.2 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the X1 (8.4 vs. 7.2 inches), allowing the Rav4 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Rav4 XLE Premium/Limited/Adventure/TRD Off-Road’s minimum ground clearance is 1.4 inches higher than on the X1 (8.6 vs. 7.2 inches).

Chassis

The front grille of the Rav4 Adventure/Limited/TRD Off-Road uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The X1 doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the Rav4 Limited 4WD is quieter than the X1 xDrive28i:

	Rav4	X1
At idle	38 dB	40 dB
70 MPH Cruising	66 dB	70 dB

Passenger Space

The Rav4 has .6 inches more front legroom, 2.2 inches more front shoulder room, .1 inches more rear headroom, .8 inches more rear legroom and 1.2 inches more rear shoulder room than the X1.

Cargo Capacity

The Rav4 has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the X1 with its rear seat up (37.6 vs. 27.1 cubic feet). The Rav4 has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the X1 with its rear seat folded (69.8 vs. 58.7 cubic feet).

The Rav4’s cargo area is larger than the X1’s in almost every dimension:

	Rav4	X1
Length to seat (2nd/1st)	40”/73.4”	35.1”/69”
Max Width	59”	51.5”
Min Width	39.4”	39.5”
Height	36.6”	33”

Payload and Towing

The Rav4 has a 1500 lbs. towing capacity. The X1 has no towing capacity.

Standard Trailer Sway Control on the Rav4 uses the Vehicle Stability Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The X1 doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The Rav4 has a higher standard payload capacity than the X1 (1100 vs. 924 lbs.).

The Rav4 has a much higher maximum payload capacity than the X1 (1230 vs. 926 lbs.).

Ergonomics

The Rav4 has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The X1 doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Rav4 has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the X1 only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

The Rav4’s LED headlights produce a whiter, brighter light (up to 3x) using five times less power than the X1’s standard halogen headlights. LED lights also light instantly and last over twenty times longer than halogen.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Rav4’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the X1’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

Both the Rav4 and the X1 offer available heated front seats. The Rav4 Limited also offers optional heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the X1.

Optional air-conditioned seats in the Rav4 (except LE/XLE/Adventure) keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The X1 doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The Rav4 Adventure/TRD Off-Road has a 115-volt a/c outlet in the cargo area, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The X1 doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Rav4 is less expensive to operate than the X1 because typical repairs cost much less on the Rav4 than the X1, including $469 less for a water pump, $786 less for a muffler, $58 less for front brake pads, $201 less for a starter, $264 less for fuel injection, $47 less for a fuel pump, $303 less for front struts, $225 less for a timing belt/chain and $762 less for a power steering pump.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Toyota Rav4, based on reliability, safety and performance. The BMW X1 isn't recommended.

The Toyota Rav4 outsold the BMW X1 by over 56 to one during 2022.

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