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Small SUVs ill-equipped for side-impact crashes

Nine out of 12 small SUVs that were tested were ill-equipped for side-impact crashes: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
CBC News ·

If a small SUV is hit with enough force on the side, the person in the passenger seat will not emerge without serious injuries, a new test suggests.

According to a test conducted by the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, nine out of the 12 small Sport Utility Vehicles that were tested did not protect the passengers properly from the side.

"Our side-impact crash test is severe," the institute's president Brian O'Neill said in a statement.

"Given the designs of today's vehicles, it's unlikely that people in real-world crashes as severe as this test would emerge uninjured."

However, O'Neill pointed out that with good side-impact protection, people should be able to survive crashes of this severity without serious injuries.

This was the institute's first test for side-impact crashes.

The test represents what happens when a passenger vehicle is struck in the side by a pickup truck or SUV at about 50 km/h.

It measured what happens when dummies the size of small women are hit in side-impact crashes.

The Subaru Forester and the Ford Escape topped the list with a "good" rating.

The Hyundai Sante Fe came in second with an "acceptable" rating.

The other nine SUVs either received "marginal" or "poor" ratings, with the Mitsubishi Outlander earning the "worst performer" in the side impact test.

"There was more intrusion into the occupant compartment than in many of the other vehicles tested," the test reported.

The Outlander that was tested didn't have side airbags. The barrier struck the driver dummy's head, and the injury measures recorded on the head as well as on the torso and pelvis were very high.

Results are as follows: (All SUVs are 2003 models)

  • Ford Escape: good
  • Subaru Forester: good
  • Hyundai Sante Fe: acceptable
  • Honda CR-V: marginal
  • Jeep Wrangler: marginal
  • Mitsubishi Outlander: poor
  • Honda Element: poor
  • Saturn Vue: poor
  • Land Rover Freelander poor
  • Suzuki Grand Vitara: poor
  • Toyota RAV4: poor
  • Ford Escape without optional side airbags: poor

Overall, the greatest difference depended on whether the vehicle had side airbags.

These tests are crucial as many vehicles that perform well in head-on crashes are still vulnerable in side crashes.

The insurance institute is working with the car industry to develop voluntary safety standards to damage in side-impact crashes.

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