October 4, 2004
You don't have to spend a bundle to have a safe ride. Results of the latest side impact crash tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway gave half of the eight midsize cars good ratings. In fact, none of the cars received a poor rating.
The 2004 Saab 9-3, 2004 Acura TL, 2004 Lexus ES 330, and 2005 Mitsubishi Galant are rated good for side impact protection. The 2004 Saab 9-5, 2005 Mercedes C class, and 2005 Volvo S40 earned acceptable ratings.
However, the 2004 Jaguar X-Type sedan, which carries a price tag of $31,000, is rated marginal. The institute said the Jag's side airbags with head protection do a good job of protecting people in side impact crashes, but the side structures of passenger vehicles also need to be strong to prevent major intrusion into the occupant compartment. In serious side crashes some intrusion is inevitable, but it should be minimized.
The Jaguar's structure was marginal because the sill below the doors and the B-pillar between the doors were severely crushed.
The better performers among vehicles that earn good ratings are designated "best picks." The Saab 9-3, which also earned a "best pick" designation in the Institute's frontal offset crash test, is the first car to earn this designation in both front and side crash tests. It's a "double best pick."
"Earning a 'double best pick' is a rare achievement," says Institute chief operating officer Adrian Lund. "The only other vehicle to have done this is the Toyota RAV4, a small SUV, and then only when it was equipped with optional side airbags."
Institute's side impact test is more challenging than federal test: In the Institute's side impact test, a moving deformable barrier strikes the driver side of a passenger vehicle at 31 mph. The barrier weighs 3,300 pounds and has a front end shaped to simulate the front end of a typical pickup or SUV. In each side-struck vehicle are two instrumented dummies the size of a short (5th percentile) female, one positioned in the driver seat and one in the rear seat behind the driver.
"The Institute's test is more challenging because the top of the barrier is at the same level as the heads of the test dummies in the car," Lund says. "This is the scenario in real-world side impact crashes where occupants' heads are often struck by the intruding hood of an SUV or pickup."
The Institute didn't test 11 other midsize inexpensive to luxury car models because the manufacturers are making design changes to improve side impact performance. The Institute will test these models in the near future.
