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 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport 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 Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer knee airbags.
With its standard Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection, the Lexus RX is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
|
RX |
Atlas Cross Sport |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
|
Crossing Child - DAY |
|
12 MPH |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH |
AVOIDED |
-10 MPH |
|
Crossing Adult - NIGHT |
|
12 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
12 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-10 MPH |
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-23 MPH |
|
Parallel Adult - NIGHT |
|
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-21 MPH |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-23 MPH |
37 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-28 MPH |
Warning Issued-Brights |
2.5 sec |
2 sec |
37 MPH Low beams |
-32 MPH |
-2 MPH |
Warning Issued-Low beams |
1.5 sec |
.6 sec |
The Lexus RX’s rear backup camera has a standard washer for maintaining a clear view under various conditions. In contrast, the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport does not offer a rear camera washer, meaning its effectiveness relies on manual cleaning by the user when necessary.
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 Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the RX and the Atlas Cross Sport have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact 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, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, 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 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport:
|
RX |
Atlas Cross Sport |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
165 |
307 |
Neck Injury Risk |
29.8% |
30% |
Neck Stress |
301 lbs. |
412 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
17 lbs. |
59 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
Chest Compression |
.6 inches |
.7 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
30.7% |
39% |
Neck Compression |
114 lbs. |
117 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 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport:
|
RX |
Atlas Cross Sport |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Chest Movement |
.3 inches |
.5 inches |
Hip Force |
206 lbs. |
215 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
63 |
208 |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.