For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Lexus RX 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 Blazer doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
The Lexus RX has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags help prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Blazer doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.
The RX 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 Blazer 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 RX has standard Intuitive Parking Assist with Automatic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Blazer doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
To deliver safety and visibility under dusty conditions the Lexus RX’s backup monitor has a standard rear washer to keep the view clear. A camera washer system costs extra on the Chevrolet Blazer.
The RX has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Blazer’s blind spot costs extra.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the RX has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Alert and Parking Support Brake automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Chevrolet charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Blazer and the Blazer’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert does not include automatic braking.
The RX’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 Blazer doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the RX and the Blazer have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Lexus RX is safer than the Chevrolet Blazer:
|
RX |
Blazer |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
Chest Compression |
.6 inches |
.8 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
30.7% |
43% |
Neck Compression |
114 lbs. |
140 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, results indicate that the Lexus RX is safer than the Chevrolet Blazer:
|
RX |
Blazer |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
58 |
93 |
Chest Movement |
.3 inches |
.8 inches |
Abdominal Force |
99 lbs. |
157 lbs. |
Hip Force |
206 lbs. |
369 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
63 |
251 |
Spine Acceleration |
43 G’s |
45 G’s |
Hip Force |
640 lbs. |
673 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.