No active head restraints?

what are 'active head restraints'? sounds motorized or something.

 

Active head restraints aren't necessarily better - with some seat designs they are needed to allow them to comply with testing. [It's a bit like a 4 car comparison I read locally where under safety, the 4 cars all achieved 5 stars - but the journalist commented that one of the cars must have been better because it had a 7th airbag for the knee. If you look at the video of the crash test, that particular car crumpled more than the other 3 and needed the 7th airbag to protect the knees - not to make it better than the others. Poor journalism at its "best".]


The EuroNCAP video of Prius 4:
Official Toyota Prius 2016 safety rating - at 1:55 shows how the Prius performs in a test.

Toyota Global Site | Technology File

Bear in mind that the average driver has the head restraint set too low for optimum operation. Check out - at 1:01 he talks about the height of the restraint.:

 

I wouldn't worry at all. Manufacturers need to install what is needed to achieve the safety rating. WIL seats aren't less sophisticated, just a different way of achieving the same outcome, and for some reason, active head restraints weren't either needed or appropriate. The entire safety of the car is a package, starting from the stable structure around the occupants, crumple zones, airbags, safety belts etc.

Did you look at the EURO NCAP Video? - at 1:55, it shows the dummy testing the whiplash protection. The vehicle achieved an outstanding overall 92%, Adult Occupant Rating, and under "Whiplash Rear Impact" achieved 2.6 Pts - in comparison, a Mercedes C Class also received 92%, but "only" 2.1 points for "Whiplash Rear Impact" - it didn't appear to have active head restraints either. The Gen 3 had 2.1 points for "Whiplash Rear Impact"

Also with US IIHS crash test, it achived a "" rating, and specifically under "Head Restraints and Seats" achieved a "Overall evaluation G; Dynamic rating G; Seat/head restraint geometry G" rating (ie top!!).

I'd stop worrying and enjoy your VERY SAFE car. BUT, first, adjust your head restraint - chances are that they are too low. Wikipedia article states "... When driving, the height of the head restraint is critical in influencing injury risk. A restraint should be at least as high as the head's centre of gravity, or about 9 centimeters (3.5 inches) below the top of the head ... .