For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Lexus TX 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 Tiguan doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.
In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the TX are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Tiguan doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Lexus TX 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 Tiguan doesn’t offer knee airbags.
The TX’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 Tiguan doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the TX and the Tiguan have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, 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 Lexus TX weighs 480 to 1668 pounds more than the Volkswagen Tiguan. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Lexus TX is safer than the Volkswagen Tiguan:
|
TX |
Tiguan |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
218 |
260 |
Neck Stress |
355 lbs. |
417 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
12 lbs. |
80 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
331/316 lbs. |
408/641 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
Chest Compression |
.6 inches |
.7 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
33% |
37% |
Neck Stress |
199 lbs. |
261 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
60 lbs. |
62 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
384/277 lbs. |
428/471 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 and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Lexus TX is safer than the Volkswagen Tiguan:
|
TX |
Tiguan |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
42 |
49 |
Chest Movement |
.3 inches |
.7 inches |
Abdominal Force |
64 lbs. |
82 lbs. |
Hip Force |
199 lbs. |
337 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
63 |
156 |
Spine Acceleration |
39 G’s |
44 G’s |
Hip Force |
55 lbs. |
510 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Spine Acceleration |
48 G’s |
49 G’s |
Hip Force |
823 lbs. |
855 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.