Photo: IIHS on YouTube / edited
When the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety puts the RAV4 through its paces, the compact-sized hybrid crossover does a lot right. Its safety cell holds up well in most crash tests, the standard driver-assistance systems perform as expected, and its headlights earn a “good” rating across the board. One result, however, keeps the 2026 model from the clean sweep Toyota probably looked forward to.
As it happens, the RAV4 earned an “acceptable” rating in the updated moderate overlap front crash test. Said evaluation puts a big emphasis on second-row protection. The nonprofit organization’s assessment points to weaker results in the rear than for the front occupants.
While that’s not enough to write off the RAV4 as unsafe, it goes without saying that Toyota could have put a little more effort into the design and calibration of the rear restraint system. In this crash scenario, the vehicle hits a deformable barrier at the front, reproducing a very common type of frontal crash. The RAV4 earns “good” marks for driver injury measures, its structure, and safety cage.
Less convincing are the rear protection results, with the IIHS rating head and neck protection “acceptable.” This rating further applies to chest protection, dummy movement, and rear restraints. Thigh protection, however, came out “good.” At the end of the day, however, the overall result is “acceptable” instead of “good.”
Footage also shows the shoulder belt moving too far upward, compromising the effectiveness of the restraint system. The lap belt, however, remained in the ideal position on the pelvis. Had it gone upward onto the abdomen, the RAV4 would have been penalized some more by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Photo: IIHS on YouTube
The IIHS gave the front-biased SUV a “good” rating in the small overlap front crash test, which evaluates crashes involving a smaller portion of the vehicle’s front end. 40 percent of the total width of the vehicle impacts the barrier in the moderate test, whereas the small one sees the vehicle hit the barrier with a 25 percent overlap.
Performed at the very same speed, these tests use different barriers to simulate different real-world scenarios. The moderate test features a barrier capped with a crushable aluminum honeycomb layer, whereas the small overlap test involves a completely solid barrier with a rounded steel edge. The updated side impact test also ended with a “good” overall rating.
“Good” marks were further awarded for the front crash prevention tech, headlights, seatbelt reminder system, and LATCH child seat hardware. Save for the “acceptable” rating in the moderate test, the RAV4 PHEV mirrors the results of the hybrid sibling. The plug-in hybrid fares worse in the moderate crash test, with the IIHS giving it the “marginal” rating.
The only difference, and the reason why it was downgraded from the hybrid, comes in the form of a moving lap belt. When the lap belt moves from the pelvis onto the lower abdomen, the intense forward momentum forces the soft organs straight back into the hard columns of the spine. The lap belt, therefore, compresses these organs hard, and there’s also the risk of severing blood vessels.
