Most small cars, including some equipped with side airbags, did badly in the latest side impact crash tests conducted by a US research group with links to the insurance industry. Small cars have improved in frontal crashes, but are still not offering the same level of protection for car occupants in side impact crashes that larger cars offer.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said only Toyota’s Corolla and the Chevrolet Cobalt from General Motors performed well enough to earn its second-highest rating of ‘acceptable’. Without the optional airbags, the Cobalt and Corolla are rated poor for side impact protection.
Other small cars all earned ‘poor’ ratings in the latest tests, which simulates a pickup truck or SUV smashing into the driver’s side of a passenger vehicle at 31 miles per hour.
Adrian Lund, the Insurance Institute’s chief operating officer, said the worst performer out of all the vehicles was the ageing Dodge Neon made by DaimlerChrysler AG.
“This car is a disaster,” Lund said of the Neon, which was tested without side airbags. Lund noted that the Neon had also received the third-lowest rating of ‘marginal’ in an earlier frontal crash test conducted by the Insurance Institute.
"The structure is poor, and both dummies' heads were hit by the barrier during the crash test. High forces were recorded on the head, torso, and pelvis of the driver dummy. If this had been a real driver in a real crash, it's likely it wouldn't have been survivable. If safety is a priority, the Neon is a small car to be avoided,” he said.
The institute said that side-curtain airbags had a significant protective effect. According to research, side airbags with head protection are reducing deaths by about 45 percent among drivers of cars struck on the driver side.
Some automakers asked for second tests after being told of the results. But DaimlerChrysler did not for the Neon, which has optional side airbags.
The other cars singled out for "poor" ratings include:
- Ford Focus (without optional airbags)
- Mazda 3 (without optional airbags)
- Mitsubishi Lancer (without optional airbags)
- Saturn ION (with optional airbags)
- Volkswagen New Beetle (with standard airbags)
- Suzuki Forenza (with standard airbags)
- Suzuki Aerio (with standard airbags)
- Nissan Sentra (without optional airbags)
- Kia Spectra (with standard airbags)
- Hyundai Elantra (with standard airbags)
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