Highway Safety’s Top Picks for 2009
Seventy-two vehicles earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Top Safety Pick award for 2009 – more than twice the number in 2008 and more than 3 times the number in 2007. Vehicles on that made the list are those vehicles which do the best job of protecting people in front, side, and rear crashes based on good ratings in Institute tests. Winners also have to have electronic stability control (ESC), which research shows significantly reduces crash risk.
Ford and Volvo came out on top with sixteen winners each, including the Ford F-150 large pickup. Thirteen winners came from Honda and its Acura division. The Honda Fit with optional ESC is the first mini car to earn Top Safety Pick.
Honda, Acura, and Subaru, which each picked up 4 awards, are standouts for 2009 because they have at least 1 Top Safety Pick in every vehicle class in which they compete.
Front and side impacts are the most common kinds of fatal crashes, killing about three-quarters of the 28,896 passenger vehicle occupants who died in 2007. Rear-end crashes usually aren’t fatal, but they result in a large proportion of crash injuries. Neck sprain or strain is the most commonly reported injury in two thirds of insurance claims for injuries in all kinds of crashes.
For the 2009 model year, 84 percent of passenger cars, 99 percent of SUVs, and 23 percent of pickups have standard side airbags with head protection. The same is true for ESC. It’s standard on 74 percent of passenger cars, 99 percent of SUVs, and 37 percent of pickups.
Rear, side performance still lags: Crash tests have driven major improvements in the designs of all kinds and sizes of passenger vehicles. The Institute began conducting frontal tests for consumer information in 1995. Side tests were added in 2003 and rear tests in 2004. Most vehicles earn good ratings based on the frontal crash test, but significant differences remain among vehicles’ performance in side and rear tests.
Twenty-six models fall short of earning Top Safety Pick because of inadequate head restraint designs. The Smart Fortwo, the only micro car in the US market, missed because of its head restraints. The same goes for Toyota’s hybrid Prius, which performed well in front and side crash tests but came up short for rear crash protection.
Noticeably absent from the list is Chrysler, the only major automaker lacking a single Top Safety Pick.
Winners include 8 large cars, 13 mid size cars, 6 small cars, 1 mini car, 3 mid size convertibles, and 3 minivans. Among SUVs, 19 are mid size, 10 are small, and 5 are large. The 2008 Toyota Tundra was the first large pickup to earn Top Safety Pick. For 2009, the Tundra is joined by the Ford F-150 and the Honda Ridgeline. The Toyota Tacoma is the only small pickup winner.
Among the 2009 winners:
• Audi A6
• Ford Taurus
• Lincoln MKS
• Volvo S80
• Audi A3, A4
• BMW 3 series (4-door models)
• Ford Fusion (with optional electronic stability control)
• Honda Accord (4-door models)
• Volkswagen Jetta and Passat
• Saab 9-3
• Volkswagen Eos
• Volvo C70
• Volkswagen Rabbit
• Kia Sedona
• Chevrolet Traverse
• GMC Acadia
• Saturn Outlook
• Ford Edge
• Honda Pilot
• Hyundai Santa Fe
• Nissan Murano
• Saturn VUE
• Nissan Rogue
• Subaru Forester
• Toyota RAV4
• Volkswagen Tiguan
• Ford F-150
• Honda Ridgeline
• Toyota Tundra
• Toyota Tacoma
• Infiniti EX35
• Lincoln MKX
• Mercedes M class
• Subaru Tribeca
• Toyota FJ Cruiser
• Volvo XC90
• Mercury Sable
• Toyota Avalon
• Volvo S80
Click here to visit the IISA website for the complete list of IISA 2009 winners.
Many german cars in the list. That shows that the german’s automobil concerns are very innovate.
The Germans are always innovative when it comes to their cars.
Now I know why I drive a German car.