2011 Toyota Highlander, VW Jetta Receive NHTSA’s Four-Star Safety Rating
The 2011 Toyota Highlander, Toyota Venza and Volkswagen Jetta received an overall rating of four stars in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s new crash-test rating system, the safety agency announced yesterday.
The overall composite score for the Jetta and Highlander are the same: four-star frontal, four-star rollover and a five-star rating for the combined side pole and barrier tests. The side barrier test is an area where other vehicles have shown weakness with the safety agency’s new testing format. The side pole test simulates a 20-mph side-impact crash into a 10-inch-diameter pole or tree at a 75-degree angle just behind the driver’s side A-pillar.
The Venza receives nearly the same composite score as the Toyota SUV and VW, but in the frontal test, it receives only a three-star rating.
In Insurance Institute for Highway Safety testing, the Jetta, Venza and Highlander were Top Safety Picks, which means they received a top score of Good in all testing areas.
Out of the more than 50 models NHTSA has tested so far, only 12 have earned a five-star rating under the revamped system: Acura MDX, BMW 5 Series, Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Cruze, Chevrolet Silverado, Chevy Traverse, GMC Acadia, GMC Sierra, Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata, Volvo XC60 and Honda Odyssey. NHTSA still has a handful of models left to test for the 2011 model year.
2011|Toyota|Venza
2011|Toyota|Highlander
2011|Volkswagen|Jetta
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My girlfriend just bought a new Highlander and I was surprised at how much I like it. The v6 is powerful and smooth and the mpg's appear to beat my Envoy by a significant amount. I'm now eyeing the 4Runner as my Envoy is starting to nickel and dime me.
Safety is a priority among this crop of winners. From the start these manufacturers set out to design vehicles that would earn TOP SAFETY barriers, even though we've made it harder to win. In just a year, automakers have more than doubled the number of vehicles that meet the criteria for TOP SAFETY barriers. That gives consumers shopping for a safer new car or SUV - from economy to luxury models - plenty of choices to consider in most dealer showrooms. In fact, every major automaker has at least one winning model this year.Money Counter