Ratings & Reference
PHOTO:^BRIANFI
NKESafety Update and Crash-Test Ratings
WHEN ASSESSING SAFETY, it’s important to
compare vehicles in the same class. Models
perform differently in crashes based on
their size and what they hit. Even a small
car with top crash-test ratings will take
the brunt of an impact if hit by a larger,
heavier vehicle.
As safety technology progresses rapidly,
we’ve begun evaluating some active
safety features in our test program. As part
of our Overall Score, we give additional
consideration to advanced safety systems—
offered as standard equipment across all
trim levels of a particular model—that can
help drivers avoid an accident or lessen
the impact of a crash.
The Insurance Institute for Highway
Safety conducts a front small-overlap
crash test that replicates a 40-mph crash
in which 40 percent of the front of a car
hits a rigid barrier. The test is done for
both the driver and passenger sides. IIHS
also conducts a frontal test that replicates
hitting an oncoming vehicle straight on.
Overall, newly introduced vehicles
that were designed with the test in mind
have performed better than older models.Guide to the Charts
The charts on these pages are a compre-
hensive collection of data to help you
compare the safety capabilities of different
models. Because crash-test results can
be compared only among vehicles ofsimilar weight, we group models by
category. Here is a guide to each column:
Accident avoidance. A composite
score derived from our track tests, includ-
ing braking and emergency handling,
and to a lesser extent driving position, vis-
ibility, acceleration, and seat comfort. If
we test multiple versions of the same model
and the accident-avoidance scores differ,
we give the range of scores attained.
Front-crash prevention. This indi cates
the availability of both city- and highway-
speed forward collision warning (FCW) and
automatic emergency braking (AEB),
and blind spot warning (BSW) systems on
a model. Std. indicates the feature is stand-
ard, Opt. means it’s available but might
not be on all trims, and a dash (—) means
the feature isn’t available. NA indicates
that at the time of publication, there was noinformation on the availability of the feature.
IIHS safety tests. These include the
driver- and passenger-side small-overlap,
offset frontal, side-impact, and rear crash
tests, and a roof-strength evaluation.
IIHS scores are Good, Acceptable, Marginal,
and Poor. The roof-strength test subjects
a vehicle to a force equal to four times
its weight for up to 5 inches of roof crush.
NHTSA safety tests. These tests
are conducted by the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration and
measure full-frontal and side-impact
performance, and they are displayed
as a combined overall and overall front
and side rating. The rollover rating
denotes the risk in a single-vehicle crash.
This score is largely based on a static
measure of a vehicle’s center of gravity.
A dynamic test is used for light trucks.Make & Model CR Tests Front-Crash Prevention IIHS Safety Tests NHTSA Safety TestsAccident^av
oidanceFCW
AEB^ city
AEB^ hwy.BSW
Front
smallover
lap
dr
iver
Front
smallover
lap
pass
engerOffset^
front
al
Side
Rear
Roof^cr
us
hCombined^over
all
Over
all
front
/sideRollover^2 WD/
4 WDCARS: SUBCOMPACT
Chevrolet Spark 40 Opt. Opt. NA NA - - Good Good - - - - -
Honda Fit 40 Opt. Opt. Opt. NA - - Good Good Good Good 05 05 /^0504 /-
Hyundai Accent 50 Opt. Opt. Opt. NA Good Accept. Good Good Good Good - - -
Kia Rio 40 Opt. Opt. Opt. NA Good Accept. Good Good Good Good - - -
Mitsubishi Mirage 20 NA NA NA NA Marg. - Good Good Good Good 04 04 /^0404 /-
Nissan Versa -Std.Std.Std.Opt.-------- -
Toyota Yaris 30 NA Std. NA NA Good - Good Good Good Good 05 05 /^0504 /-
CARS: COMPACT
Acura ILX 40 Std. Std. Std. Opt. Good - Good Good Good Good 05 04 /^0504 /-
Audi A3 50 Std. Std. Std. Opt. Good Good Good Good Good Good 05 04 /^0540 /^04190 NEW CARS CR.ORG/CARS