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Kia Sedona, Subaru Impreza Ace Crash Tests

Prius Results Poor Without Optional Side Airbags

April 17, 2006

IIHS-Auto Safety • Subaru Wins IIHS 2010 Safety Competition • Smart Fortwo Gets Top Marks In Roof Strength Tests • Bumpers On 4 Of 6 Midsize Sedans Improve • Crash Tests Of 2-Door Cars: Volvo & Ford Coupes Earn Top Safety Pick • IIHS Adopts Its Own Roof Safety Standards • Three Big Pickups Look Wimpy in Side Tests • IIHS Picks Safest Vehicles for 2009 • Insurance Group Adds 6 Small SUVs to Safety List • Luxury Sedan, SUV Win Insurance Industry Safety Award • Acura TSX Luxury Sedan Top Safety Pick • Nissan Murano Leads SUV Safety Test • Lexus EX35, Cadillac CTS Named Top Safety Picks • Nissan Quest Worst Performer in Minivan Bumper Test • Study: Crash Tests Predict Fatalities In Cars, Not Trucks • Top Safety Awards Go to 34 Cars, SUVs and a Pickup • Midsize SUVs Perform Poorly in Side Impacts • BMW 5 Series Performs Poorly in New Impact Test • Luxury Cars a "Mediocre Lot" in Low-Speed Collisions • Light Trucks Vulnerable to Whiplash --- • More IIHS Tests

The Kia Sedona and Subaru Impreza are the best performers in a group of minivans and small cars tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The Toyota Prius was rated marginal for seat/head restraint design and was rated poor without optional side airbags.

The Sedona is the first minivan to earn the Institute's Top Safety Pick award, and the Impreza is only the second small car design to earn it. Both vehicles earn gold awards for good crashworthiness.

The Institute also evaluated the Toyota Prius hybrid's front, side, and rear crashworthiness plus the side crashworthiness of three other vehicle designs -- the Mini Cooper (small car) and Dodge Grand Caravan and Chevrolet Uplander (minivans).

Results for these vehicles update the results for minivan and small car models that were released last year. Side tests of the Grand Caravan, Uplander, Mini Cooper, and Impreza were delayed at the request of the vehicle manufacturers, who were making changes to improve crashworthiness.

Sedona Tops Minivans

Among the eight current minivan designs the Institute has rated, the Sedona is the only one that earns good ratings in all three Institute tests. It will also will be sold as the 2007 Hyundai Entourage later this spring.

The new Sedona's frontal crash test performance is an improvement compared with the previous model, which the Institute rated acceptable.

"The Sedona is the best minivan we've tested," said Institute president Adrian Lund. "Other minivans have earned good front and side ratings, but they haven't achieved a satisfactory level of rear crash protection. The Sedona stands out as the first to get a clean sweep of good ratings across the board."

In the frontal test, the Sedona's structure held up well. There was little intrusion into the occupant compartment. The dummy's movement was well controlled, and injury measures were low.

In the side test, curtain-style airbags prevented the heads of driver and rear passenger dummies from contacting the intruding barrier.

The Sedona is one of five current minivan models with standard side airbags designed to protect the heads of people in all three rows of seats. For protection in rear impacts, the Sedona is a standout. Its seat/head restraints protect front-seat occupants' necks.

"Many manufacturers haven't paid as much attention to occupant protection in rear crashes, compared with front and side crashes," Lund points out. "Kia deserves credit for designing the Sedona's seat/head restraints for protection in one of the most common kinds of commuter traffic crashes."

Just as manufacturers made major improvements in how their vehicles protect people in frontal crashes, now they're making similar improvements for side and rear impact protection, Lund said.

Subaru reinforced the pillar behind the rear passenger door and upgraded the side airbags to standard in the 2006 Impreza. This car also has head restraints that do a better job than those in other small cars.

The Impreza is a good performer in all three Institute tests (front, side, and rear) and earns the gold Top Safety Pick award. Its results also apply to the Saab 9-2X, which is based on the Impreza design.

"Subaru was one of the manufacturers that last year asked us to delay side testing because of vehicle design changes that were in progress," Lund says. "It's not uncommon for us to grant such requests as long as the design changes will be made in production models within a reasonable time. The goal of our crash test program is to encourage these kinds of improvements to reduce injury risk in real-world crashes."

Prius Not a Top Pick

The Toyota Prius was a good performer in the frontal crash test and, equipped with optional side airbags, also good in the side test. But it's rated marginal for seat/head restraint design, so it isn't a Top Safety Pick.

The movement of the driver dummy was reasonably well controlled during the frontal test. Although the dummy's head did hit the pillar between the doors and the roof rail, head accelerations were low. Other injury measures also were low, and the Prius's structure held up with minimal intrusion into the occupant compartment.

"The way a hybrid model earns the top rating in the frontal test is the same way any other car does," Lund says. "Its front structure has to crush to absorb crash energy, and it has to have a safety cage that stays intact so the safety belts and airbags can protect the occupants."

The Institute conducted two side tests of the Prius, with and without its optional head-protecting side airbags. Without the airbags the Prius earns the lowest rating of poor.

The intruding barrier struck the driver dummy's head. Measures recorded during the crash indicate that a serious skull fracture and brain injuries would be likely to occur in a real-world crash of similar severity.

Chevrolet Uplander

The Institute tested the Chevrolet Uplander with and without its optional side airbags (results apply to similar Buick, Pontiac, and Saturn models). In both tests there were problems with the seats in the middle row.

With the optional side airbags, all four attachment points for the seat occupied by the rear passenger dummy completely dislodged. The seat broke free. In the second test without side airbags, one attachment point released and a second one broke, allowing partial separation of the seat from the floor.

"This didn't worsen the injury measures recorded on the rear dummy, but a real person in a more complicated real-world crash might not fare as well. Seats should stay attached because they're part of the restraint system, and in real crashes vehicles may roll over or be hit again," Lund explains.

If this hadn't happened, the Uplander with optional side airbags would earn a rating of acceptable for protection in side impacts. The seat problem downgrades the rating to marginal. Without the optional side airbags, the Uplander is poor regardless of the seat problem.

General Motors engineers have identified a fix for the seats and shown the Institute promising data from a prototype test.

When this change has been made in production models, the Institute will test the Uplander again and report the results.

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