Toyota Corolla, Scion xB Earn IIHS Top Safety Pick Status

Perhaps the most sought-after safety accolade in the automotive industry is scoring a Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The agency recently added a roof-strength test for cars to be eligible for the award, making it an even tougher accomplishment. When the institute added the new guidelines late last year, no Toyotas made its initial list of Top Safety Picks.

Today, the IIHS announced that the 2010 Toyota Corolla and 2010 Scion xB both earned the top score of Good in the roof-strength test and are again Top Safety Picks. The 2009 models of both cars were past winners under the old guidelines. Of the four other Toyota models tested for roof strength, only the Camry earned a top rating of Good. The RAV4 and Yaris earned a rating of Acceptable, and the Tacoma earned a Marginal rating. No other Lexus or Scion models have been tested for roof strength yet.

The 2010 Corolla is included in both recalls for floormats and sticky accelerator pedals and is being investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over complaints of it its steering. The Scion xB is not included in the two recalls.

The IIHS adds that "Recalls happen all the time, and they happen to Top Safety Pick vehicles as well. They just don’t usually attract the level of media attention as the Toyota problems have. The award for the Corolla only applies to vehicles fixed under any recalls — such as those related to the unintended acceleration issue."

Cars.com Compares Box-Cars

The Scion xB has recently seen the introduction of competition in a segment that didn’t even exist a few years ago. The 2010 Kia Soul and the 2009 Nissan Cube get stacked against the 2009 Scion, and Cars.com reviewers Bill Jackson, Kelsey Mays and Joe Wiesenfelder have the task of sorting out the winner. From blind spots to seating comfort, the guys go down the list to find the best econobox on the market.

Cars.comparison: The Box-Cars (Cars.com)

Econobox Comparison Video

Although Scion was first on the scene with the xB, Kia and Nissan have introduced their own low-priced small, boxy cars, the Soul and the Cube, respectively. Cars.com reviewer Kelsey Mays has spent time in all three and rendered his verdict on each. If you’re in the market for an economy car, though, he suggests you might want to look elsewhere.

2008 Scion xB Video

When it debuted, the Scion xB was one of the only small, boxy cars on the road. Now that competition like the Kia Soul and Nissan Cube has arrived, how does the xB hold up? Cars.com reviewer Bill Jackson takes you through the 2008 Scion xB. Although he likes it as a fun, practical car, he points out the areas where the xB gets it wrong.

Ch-Ch-Changes: 2010 Scion xB

We’re just going to say this right away: Nothing has changed for the 2010 model year. OK, not nothing; we wouldn’t give it the Ch-Ch-Changes treatment if there weren’t some changes, but they’re slight.

For one, there’s a new base stereo head unit that offers a better MP3 player interface, Scion says. Like the 2009, the 2010 xB comes standard with USB and auxiliary audio inputs. There’s also a new exterior paint color, Sizzling Crimson Mica, which replaces Blackberry Crush Metallic (shown here). We actually liked that Blackberry color, too. Darn.

One other thing that hasn’t changed is the starting price. Manual-transmission xBs start at $15,750, and the automatic starts at $16,700. All xBs come rather well-equipped with standard power windows, seat-mounted and side curtain airbags, cruise control, and stereo controls on the steering wheel. Considering we recently tested a similarly equipped $17,000 Toyota Yaris with an automatic transmission, these prices aren’t so bad. And the Yaris didn’t even have a USB plug.The 2010s will go on sale at the end of April.

For a picture of the snazzy new stereo, click below.