Car Throttle

For many, safety is a top concern. As the automakers have progressed, overall safety has increased the point where the majority of new vehicles are achieving good results.

Federal standards are remaining the same for now, but the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has made a change to its testing for vehicles to get the “Top Safety Pick” award. The new ones focus on roof strength in the event of a rollover, requiring roof strength to withstand 4 times the vehicles weight before reaching 5 inches of crush. The results are quite surprising!

Only 19 cars made the grade this year. To put things into perspective, the following automakers have no entries on the list for model year 2010: BMW, Cadillac, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Lexus, Saab and Scion.

An interesting fact is that Subaru is the only manufacturer with a winner in each of the 4 vehicle classes that it competes in. Toyota in particular was outraged with the results, putting out a press release after the announcement calling the IIHS tests “extreme” and “misleading” because only three of its vehicles were actually tested.

IIHS spokesman Russ Rader responded saying that the institute offered Toyota the ability to nominate vehicles for the test and none were selected by the manufacturer. Also, the Toyota Camry would have made the list if it achieved good marks in rear end crash testing (it met the roof standard but not the rear crash test). Enough of the spat between the IIHS and Toyota though – here is the complete list of “Top Safety Picks” from the IIHS for the 2010 model year.

Large cars
Buick LaCrosse
Ford Taurus
Lincoln MKS
Volvo S80

Midsize cars
Audi A3
Chevrolet Malibu built after October 2009
Chrysler Sebring 4-door with optional electronic stability control
Dodge Avenger with optional electronic stability control
Mercedes C class
Subaru Legacy
Subaru Outback
Volkswagen Jetta sedan
Volkswagen Passat sedan
Volvo C30

Small cars
Honda Civic 4-door models (except Si) with optional electronic stability control
Kia Soul
Nissan Cube
Subaru Impreza except WRX
Volkswagen Golf 4-door

Midsize SUVs
Dodge Journey
Subaru Tribeca
Volvo XC60
Volvo XC90

Small SUVs
Honda Element
Jeep Patriot with optional side torso airbags
Subaru Forester
Volkswagen Tiguan