A tougher new side-impact crash test is being phased into the Insurance coverage Institute for Freeway Security’s (IIHS) complete analysis suite beginning with 2020 and 2021 mannequin yr automobiles, and early outcomes from testing do not bode effectively for the present crop of small SUVs.
The test is carried out by putting a stationary automobile with a shifting barrier. Beforehand, the check utilized a barrier weighing roughly 3,300 kilos shifting at 31 mph. The up to date barrier weighs 4,180 kilos and strikes at 37 mph. IIHS says this extra precisely represents typical real-world situations — that’s, getting T-boned by a two-ton SUV fairly than a automobile. Keep in mind that each the velocity and mass of the barrier contribute to the full vitality of the collision. Neither enhance could seem dramatic on paper, however they mix to provide 82% extra vitality than the strategy.
The construction of the check barrier was additionally modified primarily based outcomes from IIHS performing the check utilizing two actual autos, fairly than the barrier. The Institute’s researchers discovered that whereas the check might pretty precisely measure sure varieties of cabin deformation from facet impacts, the automobiles being struck did not at all times behave the identical method within the lab that they’d in the true world. The up to date, honeycombed barrier transmits affect vitality extra precisely than its predecessor might.
Of the 20 fashions of small SUVs that earned a “Good” score on the outgoing check, solely the 2021 Mazda CX-5 (proven within the above video) managed to do the identical underneath the brand new protocol. The Audi Q3, Buick Encore, Chevrolet Trax, Honda CR-V, Nissan Rogue, Subaru Forester, Toyota RAV4, Toyota Venza and Volvo XC40 all obtained “Acceptable” scores. Eight others — the Chevrolet Equinox, Ford Escape, GMC Terrain, Hyundai Tucson, Jeep Compass, Jeep Renegade, Kia Sportage and Lincoln Corsair — earned “Marginal” scores, IIHS stated.
The Honda HR-V and Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross obtained a “Poor.” All however one of many examined autos was a 2021 mannequin. Mitsubishi skipped the 2021 mannequin yr for the Eclipse Cross, so the 2020 mannequin was examined. And except the Jeep Compass and Hyundai Tucson, these scores are relevant to their respective 2022 fashions, IIHS stated.
“Clearly, these outcomes aren’t nice, however they’re in keeping with what we anticipated once we adopted this extra stringent check,” says IIHS Senior Analysis Engineer Becky Mueller, who ran level on the analysis that prompted the brand new check.
The brand new check outcomes will not rely in opposition to present IIHS scores or awards, however they are going to be revealed alongside the present ones by means of 2022. After that, IIHS will use the brand new side-impact check by default.
