Some SUVs Don't Hold Up in Side Crash Tests

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s latest round of crash tests focused on midsize SUVs, and most of the vehicles tested didn’t do nearly as well as sedans and similarly sized crossover SUVs. The results will no doubt spark more debate among the bigger-is-safer and the get-your-land-yachts-off-the-road segments of the population.

The common thought is that the bigger the vehicle you’re in, the safer you are in an accident. There have been various studies to back that up that compare the number of road casualties to the types of vehicles involved. What IIHS discovered is that many popular midsize SUVs, including the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Nissan Pathfinder, Nissan Xterra, Chevy TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy and Saab 9-7X, rate Marginal side-impact scores. The two Nissan's did earn Good scores when equipped with optianl side airbags. The others came standard with side airbags. Most of the SUVs tested also didn’t do well in rear crash tests, and none earned a Top Safety Pick award from IIHS.

Interestingly enough, the vehicles tested were truck-based. Car-based crossover SUVs, including the Ford Edge, Subaru Tribeca and Honda Pilot, have gotten IIHS’ Top Safety Pick nod. Check out the full crash results below.

Comments

IIHS' policy used to be that they would test ONLY the standard version of a vehicle that offered optional side airbags, unless the manufacturer provided a second copy, at no cost, that included them. It appears they have shied away from this policy without explanation.

Oops, I was thinking of the TrailBlazer quintuplets when I wrote that comment, but it appears they now come standard in 2008.

I remember that those vehicles went from having standard side torso bags for the front seats when they first came out, to having no side airbags as part of Lutz's "safety for no one" cost-cutting campaign in 2003, to having optional head curtains (with no torso bags), and now to standard head curtains (but no torso bags).

Yeah, the GM quads still got the poor grades with them. The Nissans scored well with them optioned out but they're not standard and I don't have the take rates handy. Most people do not opt up for safety features though.

still, its a bit unsettling that these high volume, large SUVs (excl. the Saab) are getting dissapointing crash results.

to bad the didnt include the Touareg, Q7, and Enclave. they got some pretty impressive crash results.

Remember the Newton's second law from his laws of motion? F=ma
The bigger the m, the bigger the F when a stays the same.

2 "dirty little secrets" are rearing their heads here:

1.) From the begining, trucks have been built to a different standard from passenger cars. This loophole, dating back to a luxury tax in the early 90's, has been a prime reason for the SUV boom. In '92 if you bought a car for $35k you were subject to a luxury tax, you had to get over 24 mpg and the car had to have all sorts of safty equipment. For the same money, you could get a pickup based station wagon (SUV) with more space and every possible option. You didn't pay as much attention to milage, you thought you were safer because you were in a big heavy truck, and you were exempt from the luxury tax.

2.) The other thing is that these "safety tests" seem to happen every 6 months with no baseline. Even though cars are constantly improving, the standard of what is exceptable seems to go up every time as well. A ten-year old Volvo, that might have been the safest car available the year it came out, would barely get an acceptable rating today. Because side airbags, considered mandatory now, were only an option then, and that was if you got a curtain, door or seat mounted bag, in the front seats only. Not All of the above as today.

From what I've seen, the take rates on safety equipment are very low unless it's included as part of a popular option package. If it isn't, then dealers tend not to stock vehicles equipped with the option, and if you require it, it's a special order. I've seen this with Toyota and Nissan.

Let's not forget the most important safety factor regardless of vehicle class.... The driver....