To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid. But it costs extra on the Escape FHEV.
Both the Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid and the Escape FHEV 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, 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 Toyota Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid weighs 565 to 771 pounds more than the Ford Escape FHEV. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.
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, results indicate that the Toyota Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid is safer than the Ford Escape FHEV:
|
Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid |
Escape FHEV |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
69 |
197 |
Chest Movement |
.5 inches |
.9 inches |
Abdominal Force |
76 lbs. |
191 lbs. |
Hip Force |
196 lbs. |
240 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Hip Force |
457 lbs. |
816 lbs. |
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 Toyota Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid is safer than the Escape FHEV:
|
Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid |
Escape FHEV |
Overall Evaluation |
ACCEPTABLE |
MARGINAL |
Structure |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
120 |
391 |
Head Peak Forces |
no contact |
93 G’s |
Neck Tension |
134 lbs. |
379 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Shoulder Deflection |
.47 in |
1.1 in |
Shoulder Force |
178 lbs. |
223 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.34 in |
1.77 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
7 MPH |
8 MPH |
Pelvis |
ACCEPTABLE |
MARGINAL |
Pelvis Force |
1093 lbs. |
1160 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.94 in |
1.54 in |
Shoulder Force |
290 lbs. |
379 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
.83 in |
1.5 in |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Pelvis Force |
692 lbs. |
1093 lbs. |
Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid is 3.6% to 4.1% less likely to roll over than the Escape FHEV.