For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Tacoma 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 Colorado doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
The Toyota Tacoma 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 Colorado doesn’t offer knee airbags.
In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Toyota Tacoma achieved a “Good” rating - the highest possible - for its performance in forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, demonstrating its excellent capabilities in preventing collisions. The Chevrolet Colorado has not been tested.
The Tacoma 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 Colorado 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 Tacoma Automatic offers an optional Parking Support Brake that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Colorado doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.
The Tacoma’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 Colorado doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Tacoma and the Colorado have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, 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 four-wheel drive, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Toyota Tacoma is safer than the Chevrolet Colorado:
|
|
Tacoma |
Colorado |
|
|
Passenger |
|
| STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
| HIC |
252 |
293 |
| Chest Compression |
.6 inches |
.8 inches |
| Neck Compression |
37 lbs. |
92 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 Tacoma is safer than the Chevrolet Colorado:
|
|
Tacoma |
Colorado |
|
|
Front Seat |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
3 Stars |
| HIC |
22 |
129 |
| Chest Movement |
.5 inches |
1.6 inches |
| Abdominal Force |
78 lbs. |
186 lbs. |
| Hip Force |
131 lbs. |
196 lbs. |
|
|
Rear Seat |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| HIC |
43 |
64 |
| Spine Acceleration |
24 G’s |
30 G’s |
| Hip Force |
222 lbs. |
285 lbs. |
|
|
Into Pole |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| Max Damage Depth |
13 inches |
14 inches |
| Hip Force |
516 lbs. |
586 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.