By Dave Bean, Content Editor, FMW
May 1, 2024
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently made their vehicle-to-vehicle front-end crash test more stringent. The results: when small SUVs were subjected to the updated assessment, only the Suburu Forester passed with flying colors. The remaining nine vehicles tested in this initial group either barely got by or failed the test altogether.
The rebooted version of the original test, which was discontinued 2022, now includes crashes at a variety of speeds and has the subject vehicles run headlong into a multitude of differing targets, including passenger cars, motorcycles and both medium and larger sized trucks.
“This is a vital update to one of our most successful test programs,” IIHS President David Harkey said. “The vast majority of new vehicles now come with automatic emergency braking, and our research shows the technology prevents as many as half of all front-to-rear crashes. This new, tougher evaluation targets some of the most dangerous front-to-rear crashes that are still happening.”
While the Suburu Forester was rewarded with a best in the bunch ‘good’ rating, the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 squeaked by with ‘acceptable’ nods. Those scoring a ‘marginal rating’ included the Ford Escape, Hyundai Tucson, and Jeep Compass. And at the bottom rung of the crash test ladder, branded as ‘poor,’ were the Chevrolet Equinox, Mazda CX-5, Mitsubishi Outlander and Volkswagen Taos.
In addition to individual vehicle findings, the upgraded vehicle-to-vehicle front-end crash also revealed that Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) appear to be effective in preventing collisions with passenger-sized cars, but not so much with motorcycles or medium or heavy trucks.
This may end up being a key learning and will hopefully entice OEMs to make improvements in existing systems or develop further systems that might increase crash avoidance effectiveness with and among all vehicle segments.
Here are the IIHS updated front-end crash prevention ratings for Small SUVs:
(Table courtesy of IIHS)
To download the detailed report from IIHS, click here.
