In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Toyota Rav4 achieved an “Acceptable” rating for its forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, outperforming the Mitsubishi Outlander which scored “Poor” - the lowest rating - in these critical safety features.
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 Outlander 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.
Both the Rav4 and Outlander offer Rear Cross Traffic Alert, but the Rav4 (except LE) has Parking Support Brake (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Outlander’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.
Both the Rav4 and the Outlander have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive, blind spot warning systems and around view monitors.
Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Rav4 is 2% to 4.3% less likely to roll over than the Outlander.