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 bZ are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Model Y doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the bZ AWD’s standard Downhill Assist Control allows you to creep down safely. The Model Y doesn’t offer Downhill Assist Control.
The bZ has standard Safety Connect™, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Model Y doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.
Both the bZ and the Model Y have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, 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, driver alert monitors and available 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 Toyota bZ is safer than the Tesla Model Y:
|
bZ |
Model Y |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Neck Stress |
130 lbs. |
165 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
25 lbs. |
189 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 Toyota bZ is safer than the Tesla Model Y:
|
bZ |
Model Y |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Chest Movement |
.4 inches |
.6 inches |
Abdominal Force |
86 lbs. |
145 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
223 |
358 |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Spine Acceleration |
38 G’s |
39 G’s |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.