Lexus RX350, Toyota Highlander have zero driver deaths in study

The AWD Lexus RX350 and Toyota Highlander prove incredibly safe for the model years 2008 through 2011, the most recent years covered in a new study.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has released a new summary of the driver deaths per million registered vehicles covering the model years 2008- 2011. Calendar 2009 through 2012 is the time frame of the study’s data. A typical rate of deaths per million registered vehicles is about 28. Both the Lexus RX350 AWD and the Toyota Highlander AWD have zero. That means what it says. No driver was killed driving these vehicles in the US during that period.

Earlier Lexus RX350 and Toyota Highlander Models Safety
Previous generations of the Highlander and RX350 have also done exceptionally well in this regard. The prior generation of RX350 have less than half the average number of driver deaths per million registered vehicles. Toyota and Lexus were early adopters of unit-body construction, side-curtain airbags on all rows, stability control, and independent suspension for mid-size crossovers.

Lexus RX350 Toyota Highlander Top Sellers
The Lexus RX350 AWD of this period was also the leading seller in its class of mid-sized luxury crossovers. The Highlander is a top seller in its class. The Toyota Highlander has one other distinction. It was redesigned for 2014, and the 2015 Highlander is the only vehicle in its class to earn the industry’s top safety rating, the IIHS Top Safety Pick Plus designation.

Other Zero-Deaths Vehicles
Of all vehicles produced in that time span, only nine others have zero deaths. No other automaker has more than one vehicle on the list. Those models that join the Lexus RX350 AWD and Toyota Highlander AWD on the zero driver deaths list include the Toyota Sequoia AWD, Volvo XC90, the Subaru Legacy, Kia Sorento 2WD, Mercedes Benz GL, Audi A4 AWD, and Honda Odyssey.

To read the story about the photo above in which the driver walked away after a four story fall off a building click here.

You can view the IIHS data at this link.

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