In 2005 when the IIHS safety ratings started only 11 models were a Top Safety Pick.
The independent Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Top Safety Pick has a record number of choices – 115 – among 2012 models. The best vehicles are those in IIHS’s view that do the best job of protecting people in front, side, rollover, and rear crashes. The 2012 winners include 69 cars, 38 SUVs, 5 minivans, and only 3 pickup trucks. There were 18 new safety winners for 2012, while 97 models that made the 2011 top Safety Pick award carry over to 2012, according to an IIHS release.
Again this year every major automaker has at least one winner. Subaru remains the only manufacturer with the distinction of earning awards for every model it builds. Subaru has 5 awards, including one for the redesigned Impreza, a small car.
The ratings cover all 4 of the most common kinds of crashes. Because the federal government now requires all 2012 and later passenger vehicles to have electronic stability control to help drivers avoid loss-of-control crashes, ESC no longer is a requirement to win as it was in prior years.
Toyota/Lexus/Scion has 15 winners for 2012, more than any other auto manufacturer. General Motors is next in line with 14, followed by Volkswagen/Audi with 13, and Ford/Lincoln and Honda/Acura with 12 awards apiece.
“For the second year running a record number of models qualify,” says Institute president Adrian Lund. “It’s tough to win, and we commend auto manufacturers for making safety a top priority.”
Initially 66 vehicles qualified for last year’s award as less-than-perfect rollover ratings held back many contenders. Later the number climbed to 100 as manufacturers re-designed roofs to make them stronger or introduced new models. The Institute’s rolling test schedule allows for recognition of additional winners throughout the year, so many 2012 models qualified for a 2011 Top Safety Pick.
Toyota/Lexus/Scion has 15 winners for 2012, more than any other auto manufacturer. General Motors is next in line with 14, followed by Volkswagen/Audi with 13, and Ford/Lincoln and Honda/Acura with 12 awards apiece.
Ten of the 18 new additions are Honda/Acura models, including the midsize Accord sedan, which hasn’t earned Top Safety Pick since the Institute toughened criteria to win the 2010 award by adding a test to assess roof strength in a rollover crash.
Vehicles rated good for rollover protection 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% compared with roofs meeting the minimum requirement. A new federal standard for roof strength will phase in beginning with 2013 models after domestic automakers fought the new standard for years.
Roofs on the 2009 Honda CR-V and 2010 Pilot scored marginal ratings in prior Institute tests, while earlier models of the Accord, CR-Z, Fit, and Insight rated acceptable. Now all of these 2012 models earn good ratings and Top Safety Pick.
“Honda/Acura deserves credit for most-improved status,” Lund says. “The automaker buckled down and upgraded roofs on 10 models that missed winning last year because of rollover protection. Now, the automaker has winners in the minicar, small car, midsize car, small SUV, midsize SUV, minivan, and large pickup categories.”
Another mid-size sedan, the Toyota Camry, earns its first-ever Top Safety Pick. Last year, the Camry missed the mark because of a marginal rating for seat/head restraints. The Toyota Yaris also earns its first Top Safety Pick award. Toyota upgraded the roof and seat/head restraints of the 4-door hatchback model to win. Good ratings secure the Yaris a spot alongside 3 other minicars, the Fiat 500, Ford Fiesta, and Honda Fit, as 2012 winners.
“It’s great to see the Accord and Camry, 2 of the top-selling mid-size cars in the U.S. market, join the Top Safety Pick ranks this year,” Lund says. “The Accord previously won the 2009 award but has been missing from the list since then.”
“When we launched Top Safety Pick in 2005, consumers had 11 models to pick from. Six years later, finding a winner that fits most budgets and lifestyles is easy,” Lund says. “It’s a testament to the commitment automakers have made to going above and beyond minimum safety standards.”
The Institute awarded the first Top Safety Pick to 2006 models and then raised the bar the next year by requiring good rear test results and ESC as either standard or optional equipment. In 2010, the Institute toughened criteria by adding a requirement that all qualifiers must earn a good rating for performance in a roof strength test to assess protection in a rollover crash.
The Institute groups winners according to vehicle type and size. Lund advises consumers to keep in mind that size and weight influence crashworthiness. Larger, heavier vehicles generally afford better occupant protection in serious crashes than smaller, lighter ones. Even with a Top Safety Pick, a small car isn’t as crashworthy as a bigger one.
- The Institute’s frontal crashworthiness evaluations are based on results of 40 mph frontal offset crash tests. Each vehicle’s overall evaluation is based on measurements of intrusion into the occupant compartment, injury measures recorded on a 50th percentile male Hybrid III dummy in the driver seat, and analysis of slow-motion film to assess how well the restraint system controlled dummy movement during the test.
- Side evaluations are based on performance in a crash test in which the side of a vehicle is struck by a barrier moving at 31 mph. The barrier represents the front end of a pickup or SUV. Ratings reflect injury measures recorded on 2 instrumented SID-IIs dummies representing a 5th percentile woman, assessment of head protection countermeasures, and the vehicle’s structural performance during the impact.
- In the roof strength test, a metal plate is pushed against 1 side of a roof at a displacement rate of 0.2 inch per second. To earn a good rating for rollover protection, the roof must withstand a force of 4 times the vehicle’s weight before reaching 5 inches of crush. This is called a strength-to-weight ratio.
- Rear crash protection is rated according to a 2-step procedure. Starting points for the ratings are measurements of head restraint geometry — the height of a restraint and its horizontal distance behind the back of the head of an average-size man.
- Seat/head restraints with good or acceptable geometry are tested dynamically using a dummy that measures forces on the neck. This test simulates a collision in which a stationary vehicle is struck in the rear at 20 mph. Seats without good or acceptable geometry are rated poor overall because they can’t be positioned to protect many people.
