Latest Crash Tests Emphasize Importance Of Side Airbag Protection
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently conducted crash tests on eight small SUV's. Four scored the best, earning a "Top Safety Pick" award. These were the VW Tiguan, Ford Escape (along with the Mercury Mariner and Mazda Tribute platform mates), Mitsubishi Outlander and Nissan Rogue.
The VW Tiguan was noted as the top performer of the group. "In the latest tests, the Tiguan's performance is a standout," says Institute president Adrian Lund. "It sailed through the front and side crash tests without a single downgrade for structure or measures of injury likelihood recorded on the dummy. This is 1 of 4 models in this group that afford superior crash protection in their class. This is a huge change from just 5 years ago when most small SUVs were rated either marginal or poor in our side test, and standard side airbags and electronic stability control were rare."
To illustrate the importance of side curtain and torso airbags, one only needs to look at the results of the three worst performing vehicles. The Chevrolet Equinox and Jeep Wrangler (neither of which have curtain airbags as standard equipment) scored "marginal" and "poor", respectively. The Jeep Patriot, which has standard curtain airbags, but not torso airbags, also scored a "marginal" rating. However, when the Patriot was retested (at Chrysler's request and expense) with the optional torso airbags, its score improved to "good."
I can remember when I was ready to get my Murano and I couldn't find a dealer that was stocking one that was equipped with the [then optional] curtain airbags and electronic stability control. These were items that were a must have, and I eventually had to custom order the vehicle to get exactly what I wanted. The sad truth is that most dealers tend to not stock vehicles with additional cost safety items because most consumers don't want to pay for them. Luckily, more and more vehicles these days come standard with safety items like anti-lock brakes, electronic stability control and side airbags.
Click the thumbnail image below for a larger version of the chart that illustrates the results of the latest test.
- Posted by
- Lee Scott August 25, 2008, 12:00 PM
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- Categories:
- Car Buying
- Technorati Tags:
- Air Bags, Ford Escape, Jeep Wrangler, Mitsubishi Outlander, Safety, Saturn View, VW Tiguan
The Forester already was an IIHS Top Safety Pick. :o)