Daily Auto News Top Safety Picks Announced
Daily Auto News
‘Tis the season for automotive groups and publications to hand out awards, but one of the latest stands out. It’s not based on blistering zero-to-sixty times or lust-inspiring exteriors. This award is one that really matters to a lot of consumers. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has announced their Top Safety Picks for 2010.
In a press release, IIHS says, “Nineteen cars and 8 SUVs earn the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Top Safety Pick award for 2010. For the first time, good performance in a roof strength test to measure protection in a rollover is required to win.”
In order to qualify as a Top Safety Pick, a vehicle must earn top scores from IIHS in front, side, rear and now rollover tests. The scores measure how well the vehicle protects occupants during the crash tests.
There are some surprises on this year’s list — or rather, which automakers aren’t on it. No BMW or Toyota models made the cut. Jalopnik reports, “Though BMW and Toyota aren’t the only major automaker to not make the list of 27 vehicles, they’re the most notable considering Chrysler managed to get four vehicles on the list and Volvo managed the same despite having belts on their XC60 disengage in a side-crash.” Mazda, Mitsubishi and Saab are other manufacturers that have had top safety picks in the past, but didn’t make the cut this year.
The big winners are Volkswagen and Subaru. Volkswagen had four of its cars make the list, while Subaru had five cars earn top safety pick status. In fact, at least one Subaru is a top safety pick in every category except large cars
The list of top safety picks has shrunk this year. While the Top Safety Picks for 2009 had 94 cars on the list, the 29010 list has only 27. The cuts came as roof-strength tests, which are aimed at measuring how well a car protects occupants in a rollover, were part of the award criteria for the first time. IIHS explains the cuts further, noting “The Honda Accord picked up the award the past 2 years, but the 2010 didn’t earn the required good roof strength rating to qualify (the roof is rated acceptable). The Ford Fusion is another midsize car that dropped off the list for the same reason.” However, IIHS President Adrian Lund says, “Honda and Ford would have to make only minor changes to achieve good ratings for roof strength, as the Accord and Fusion just missed the mark.”
The IIHS awards are meant to highlight cars that go above and beyond the required minimum federal standards for safety. IIHS says, “Vehicles rated good [the highest score possible] have roofs more than twice as strong as the current federal standard requires. The Institute estimates that such roofs reduce the risk of serious and fatal injury in single-vehicle rollovers by about 50 percent compared with roofs meeting the minimum requirement.” Top Safety Picks have earned the score of “good” across all IIHS tests.
The full list of winners is below.
Large cars
Buick LaCrosse
Ford Taurus
Lincoln MKS
Volvo S80
Midsize cars
Audi A3
Chevrolet Malibu (built after October 2009)
Chrysler Sebring (4-door with optional electronic stability control)
Dodge Avenger (with optional electronic stability control)
Mercedes C Class
Subaru Legacy
Subaru Outback
Volkswagen Jetta sedan
Volkswagen Passat sedan
Volvo C30
Small cars
Honda Civic 4-door models (except Si) with optional electronic stability control
Kia Soul
Nissan Cube
Subaru Impreza (except WRX)
Volkswagen Golf (4-door)
Midsize SUVs
Dodge Journey
Subaru Tribeca
Volvo XC60
Volvo XC90
Small SUVs
Honda Element
Jeep Patriot (with optional side torso airbags)
Subaru Forester
Volkswagen Tiguan
If you’re in the market for a new car, check out the U.S. News rankings of this year’s best cars, as well as this month’s best car deals.
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