As the world’s largest carmaker, Toyota naturally tops many car sales categories. The fact that it pioneered the compact SUV market when it launched the Toyota RAV4 suggests it leads sales in that segment too. It does, but not by much, which might explain the bizarre marketing decision it took when advertising the 2019 RAV4.

The Toyota RAV4 has more standard safety features than competitors

With the Nissan Rogue, Honda CR-V, and Chevrolet Equinox closing the sales gap in 2018 as seen in Car Sales Base, perhaps it’s understandable why Toyota decided to take a swipe at the others, possibly to get a leg up in the marketing department at least. 

In the advertisement for the 2019 Toyota RAV4 on Buy a Toyota, they claimed they had a set of standard safety features that their competitors could not match.

One of the safety features is lane departure warning. This works at speeds over 32 mph and employs sensors and radar to detect when the vehicle strays from its lane. Additionally, it has a steering assist feature; the car will make minor corrections to rectify any lane deviation.

Dynamic cruise control using a camera and radar to recognize vehicular activity ahead of the car is another safety feature for the 2019 Toyota RAV4. If the car ahead slows down or speeds up, so will the RAV4, ensuring it maintains a safe distance. 

A pre-collision system with an added pedestrian detection and automatic emergency braking feature is the other safety feature. This activates when you hit 7 mph and works up to 50 mph. When the car detects danger, it sends out a warning sound and displays a ‘BRAKE’ message on the driver’s information display unit. The RAV4 will pre-apply emergency braking in anticipation of the driver’s input, to help the driver along the way.

The feature ensures the driver does not struggle as the situation may cause them to apply a more-than-necessary braking force. Even if the driver does not depress the brake pedal, the car will automatically apply brakes to stop the crash. 

Headlight high beam assistance is another added feature. This feature uses a sensor to gauge the brightness of surrounding lights, such as streetlights or oncoming traffic, to either turn the high beam on or off. 

The 2019 RAV4 is claimed to have a crash notification coming with a three-year subscription to the Safety Connect feature. If you ever get involved in an accident and the safety bags deploy, or if you suffer a severe rear-end crash, someone from the Toyota care center will report and coordinate the crash assistance.

When this RAV4 moves into the drivers’ blind spot, it is claimed to light up a warning light on the side mirror thanks to the blind spot warning feature. The light flashes when the driver activates the turn signal and tries to move to an occupied lane.

How the competitors stack up to the Toyota RAV4

With the sales gap narrowing, it is small wonder that Toyota took drastic measures to clip its competitors’ wings. As part of the Toyota advertisement, they allege that the safety features they offer as standard would cost anything from $1,650 on the CR-V, to $8,145 more on the Equinox. Their advertisement would seem to suggest that the competitors’ vehicles are unsafe.

Not exactly since the Rogue, Mazda CX-5, CR-V, and Equinox had five-star ratings from the NCAP testing by NHTSA. According to the IIHS, the Rogue, CR-V, and Equinox garnered Top Safety Pick awards, while the CX-5 was a Top Safety Pick+ winner – same as the RAV4. 

Standard features, great value

According to The Economist, the U.S. has the worst road safety record among the world’s wealthiest countries. Toyota made that advertisement to resonate with safety-conscious users and gain any sort of advantage against its rivals. Since the advert was on Toyota’s website, it could be a little misleading or cherry-picked.

Whether it is a marketing gimmick or not, the excellent set of standard features on the RAV4 make it a great value and gives them an edge against the competition.