The IIHS has released the results of its latest small car crash test in which 12 cars were subjected to the Institute’s small overlap front crash test. The test included models like, the Chevy Volt, MINI Countryman, Nissan Leaf, Fiat 500L and the Mazda5.
The IIHS has released the results of its latest small car crash test in which 12 cars were subjected to the Institute’s small overlap front crash test. The test included models like, the Chevy Volt, MINI Countryman, Nissan Leaf, Fiat 500L and the Mazda5.
Introduced in 2012, the small overlap test replicates what happens when the front corner of a vehicle collides with another vehicle or an object such as a tree or utility pole. In the test, 25 percent of a vehicle’s front end on the driver’s side strikes a rigid barrier at 40 mph. In the small overlap test, the main structures of the vehicle’s front-end crush zone are bypassed, making it hard for the vehicle to manage crash energy. The occupant compartment can collapse as a result.
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To get a top safety rating, a vehicle needs to have an occupant compartment that resists intrusion, safety belts that prevent a driver from pitching too far forward and side curtain airbags that provide enough forward coverage to cushion a head at risk of hitting the dashboard or window frame or things outside the vehicle.
The MINI Countryman was the only vehicle in the test to get receive a “good” rating in the small overlap front crash test, while the Chevy Volt, Ford C-MAX and Scion FR-S/ Subaru BRZ received an acceptable rating. The Fiat 500L, Nissan Leaf, Nissan Juke and Mazda5 received the lowest “poor” rating.
While the Chevy Volt only received an acceptable rating in the small overlap test, it was the only vehicle in the test to receive the institute’s Top Safety Pick + safety rating. The C-Max Hybrid, Countryman, Mitsubishi Lancer, and the Scion FR-S/ Subaru BRZ received the Top Safety Pick rating, but missed the “plus” award because they don’t have an available front crash prevention system.
Source: IIHS
