By Courtney Caldwell, American Woman Road & Travel Magazine
12/20/2003
In crash tests conducted recently by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, eight new or redesigned midsize sport utility vehicles earned ratings of good, and one is acceptable.
Three luxury models (Lexus RX 330, Infiniti FX and Cadillac SRX) earned good ratings overall and the added designation of "best pick." Five other SUVs (Toyota 4Runner, Nissan Murano, Chrysler Pacifica, Honda Pilot and Mitsubishi Endeavor) also earned good ratings, and all but the Endeavor are best picks.
Vehicle ratings reflect performance in 40-mph crash tests. The Institute evaluates the crashworthiness of passenger vehicles, assigning each vehicle a rating from good to poor overall. If a vehicle earns a good rating, it means that in a real-world crash of similar severity a belted driver would be likely to walk away without serious injuries.
"These results demonstrate the effectiveness of the Institute’s frontal crash test program in bringing about improvements in vehicle designs," says Adrian Lund, the Institute’s chief operating officer. "When the Institute first tested midsize SUVs in 1996, none was rated good. Now there are 16 current midsize SUV designs rated good."
Institute and government crash tests complement each other.
Each vehicle’s overall evaluation is based on three aspects of performance — measurements of occupant compartment intrusion, injury measures from a dummy positioned in the driver seat, and analysis of slow-motion film to assess how well the restraint system controlled dummy movement during the test.
The federal government has been testing new passenger vehicles in 35-mph full-front crash tests since 1978. This New Car Assessment Program has been a major contributor to crashworthiness improvements — in particular, improved restraint systems in new passenger vehicles. The Institute’s offset tests, conducted since 1995, involve 40 percent of a vehicle’s front end hitting a deformable barrier at 40 mph. This test complements the federal test involving the full width of the front end hitting a rigid barrier. Both tests are contributing to improvements in crashworthiness — in particular, improved crumple zones and safety cages.
The same 40-mph offset crash test is used to evaluate new cars by the European Union in cooperation with motor clubs, by an Australian consortium of state governments and motor clubs, and by a government-affiliated organization in Japan. Courtney Caldwell is editor in chief of American Woman Road & Travel magazine.
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