Six new vehicles have been elevated to the “best of the best” when it comes to safety.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety awarding its “Top Safety Pick Plus” designation to the Toyota Prius and BZ, the Hyundai Elantra and Sonata as well as the Nissan Murano and Kia K4.
“That means they are performing really well in our crash tests, headlight evaluation, our crash prevention systems,” says Raul Arbelaez, IIHS VP and director of the Institute’s Vehicle Research Center. “This is the type of safety that consumers should be expecting of new vehicles.”
As vehicles become safer, the Insurance Institute continually upgrades its tests and its overall evaluation system. Recently they have put more of a premium on back seat safety and headlights.
“We have raised the bar every few years in different ways.”
Arbaelez says some carmakers have responded to the challenge, but some haven’t.
“Y’know some of these vehicles are performing really well and earning our Top Safety Pick award, and some, y’know are falling short even in areas where they shouldn’t, where some of these tests have been conducted for a long time.”
Ford’s Bronco and Bronco sport were tested, but did not win either the Top Safety Pick Plus or Top Safety Pick designation.
“They are not performing really well for protection of those rear occupants in the rear seat,” says Arbalaez.
This gave both vehicles a “moderate” rating. On top of that, the Bronco’s headlights were also put in the “moderate” section.
The other vehicle tested, the Volkswagen Taos received “poor” ratings for crash prevention and seat belt reminders.
Arbalaez says this does not mean these vehicles are inherently unsafe, but cars and trucks need high scores across the board to be considered Top Safety Picks.
Carmakers have responded to these challenges in the past, and made quick improvements so that they can improve their scores.