The Nissan Leaf 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 Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid doesn't offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The Leaf has standard Active Head Restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Head Restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid doesn't offer a whiplash protection system.

The Leaf SV PLUS' 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 Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid doesn't offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Leaf and the Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver 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, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available daytime running lights and 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 Nissan Leaf is safer than the Toyota Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid:

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 post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Nissan Leaf is safer than the Toyota Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Leaf is 2.6% less likely to roll over than the Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid.

Nissan pays for scheduled maintenance on the Leaf for 1 year and 11000 miles longer than Toyota pays for maintenance for the Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid (3/36,000 vs. 2/25000).

J.D. Power and Associates' 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 26 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is rated lower.

On the EPA test cycle the Leaf gets better mileage than the Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid running on electricity:

On the EPA test cycle the Leaf gets better mileage than the Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid running its gasoline engine:

The Leaf can travel with zero emissions on a full charge for 149 to 212 miles. The Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid has to start its internal combustion engine after only 42 miles.

The Leaf stops much shorter than the Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid:

The Leaf S' standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid SE's standard 60 series tires. The Leaf SV PLUS' tires have a lower 50 series profile than the Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid XSE's 55 series tires.

The Leaf has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle's integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid doesn't offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Leaf has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid doesn't offer variable-assist power steering.

The Leaf handles at .79 G's, while the Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid XSE pulls only .75 G's of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the Leaf S' turning circle is 1.3 feet tighter than the Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid SE's (34.8 feet vs. 36.1 feet). The Leaf SV PLUS' turning circle is 1.2 feet tighter than the Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid XSE's (36.2 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

The Nissan Leaf may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 400 to 750 pounds less than the Toyota Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid.

The Leaf is 4.5 inches shorter than the Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid, making the Leaf easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Leaf has 3.5 inches more front headroom, 1.1 inches more front legroom and 2.3 inches more rear hip room than the Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid.

The Leaf's driver power window, power mirror and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid's power mirror switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

The Leaf's speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn't have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid's standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.