It is a common perception that luxury cars score highly on crash protection. However, many highly popular offerings from various luxury car manufacturers, including the new 3 Series from BMW, have scored poorly in a new frontal crash test which apes the head on collision of a car with another vehicle, electricity/telephone pole or a tree. The test is from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The ratings were given as per the performance in three areas: structural integrity, the effectiveness of the restraints and potential injuries.
Of a total of 11 latest entry level luxury cars that were put to test, merely two — the Acura TL and Volvo S60 — earned “good” ratings in the ‘small overlap frontal crash test’. It may be noted that Volvo is presently owned by Chinese car maker Geely.
Nissan’s Infiniti G could manage only an “acceptable” rating at this test. The very popular Mercedes Benz C-Class, the Audi A4, the BMW 3 Series, the Ford Lincoln MKZ and the ES 350 & the IS from Toyota owned Lexus were awarded an overall rating of “poor”.
The cars fared badly in spite of the fact that almost every modern executive sedan has a safety cage to ensure the protection of the inhabitants in event of a head-on collision. However, small overlap crashes, that involve an impact on only the front corner of a car, have maximum effect on the less protected outer edges of the vehicle.
The right foot of the crash dummy in both the C-Class and the Lexus IS was struck under the brake pedal.
“Most automakers design their vehicles to ace our moderate overlap frontal test and NHTSA’s full-width frontal test, but the problem of small overlap crashes hasn’t been addressed,” Institute President Adrian Lund said.
Of all the vehicles that were tested, the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, Mercedes Benz C Class and the Volvo S60 are currently on sale in India. It is reassuring to see that inspite of a Chinese owner, the Swedish car maker has maintained its status of manufacturing some of the safest cars out there.
F30's overall result was "Marginal" and not "Poor".
F30's overall result was "Marginal" and not "Poor".
Basics misplaced or lost? eh!
Basics misplaced or lost? eh!
Basics misplaced or lost? eh!