For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid 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 Chevrolet Trax doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid 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 Chevrolet Trax doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.
The Toyota Corolla Cross 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 Trax doesn’t offer knee airbags.
With its standard Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection, the Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Chevrolet Trax, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
|
Corolla Cross Hybrid |
Trax |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
|
Crossing Child - DAY |
|
12 MPH |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
|
Crossing Adult - NIGHT |
|
12 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-2 MPH |
12 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
No Slowing |
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-22 MPH |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-4 MPH |
|
Parallel Adult - NIGHT |
|
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
No Slowing |
37 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-11 MPH |
Warning Issued-Brights |
2.3 sec |
1.4 sec |
37 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-3 MPH |
Warning Issued-Low beams |
1.7 sec |
1.3 sec |
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Corolla Cross Hybrid XSE 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 Trax doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
The Corolla Cross Hybrid has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Trax doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.
The Corolla Cross Hybrid XSE has standard Front and Rear Parking Assist to help warn the driver about vehicles, pedestrians or other obstacles behind or in front of their vehicle. The Trax doesn’t offer a front parking aid.
Both the Corolla Cross Hybrid and Trax offer rear cross-traffic warning, but the Corolla Cross Hybrid XSE has Parking Support Brake (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Trax’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.
The Corolla Cross 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 Trax doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Corolla Cross Hybrid and the Trax have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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 blind spot warning systems.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH moderate front offset crash tests on new cars. In this updated test, results indicate that the Corolla Cross Hybrid is much safer than the Trax:
|
Corolla Cross Hybrid |
Trax |
Overall Evaluation |
ACCEPTABLE |
POOR |
Structure |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Chest Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Thigh/hip Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Leg/foot Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Restraints |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Rear Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck Rating |
GOOD |
POOR |
Chest Rating |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Thigh Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
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 Corolla Cross Hybrid is safer than the Trax:
|
Corolla Cross Hybrid |
Trax |
Overall Evaluation |
ACCEPTABLE |
ACCEPTABLE |
Structure |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
193 |
476 |
Neck Tension |
223 lbs. |
379 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.94 in |
1.57 in |
Shoulder Force |
245 lbs. |
335 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.38 in |
1.5 in |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
131 |
424 |
Neck Tension |
67 lbs. |
134 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
67 lbs. |
134 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.83 in |
1.77 in |
Shoulder Force |
156 lbs. |
335 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.06 in |
1.57 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
4 MPH |
9 MPH |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |