The latest crash tests of subcompact cars were performed by an insurance industry group and out of 12 vehicles tested, none of them managed to get the highest rating of ?good? from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The Chevrolet Spark was the only vehicle which manged to score the second-highest rating, which is ?acceptable?. Moreover, six of the cars – including the Nissan Versa, the segment?s best seller -?got the lowest rating of ‘poor’. All cars tested were manufactured in 2013 or 2014. Joe Nolan, the IIHS’s senior vice president for vehicle research said, ?Small, lightweight vehicles have an inherent safety disadvantage. That?s why it?s even more important to choose one with the best occupant protection?.
The small overlap test of the institute was introduced in 2012 and shows what happens when a car?s front corner collides with another car or an object, such as a utility pole for example. During the test, 25% of a car’s front end on the side of a driver hits a sturdy?barrier at 40 mph.
The test is different from the frontal crash test of the US government, in which the car strikes a rigid barrier head-on at 35 mph. The IIHS said that hitting only part of the front end makes it harder for cars to manage energy from a crash.
Photo Credits: M Live
