The Safest & Least-Safe Cars of 2006
by www.SixWise.com
Every year, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)
rates passenger vehicles' ability to hold up in a crash as
good, acceptable, marginal or poor. They break cars down into
four size categories: large, midsize, small and minivans,
and base their ratings on front, side and rear safety tests.
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Generally speaking, smaller cars offer less protection
to passengers than large ones. So, a small car with
a "gold" rating may still be less safe, overall,
than a large car with a marginal rating.
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The vehicles that earn good ratings in each test category
(front, side and rear) are given gold ratings, while those
that earn good front and side ratings and acceptable rear
ratings are given a silver rating.
Test results are only comparable among vehicles of similar
weight, as larger vehicles are generally more protective than
smaller ones.
IIHS Top Safety Picks for 2006
Large
Midsize
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The 2006 Saab 9-3 earned a gold rating from the IIHS
for "good" ratings on all three safety tests.
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Small
Minivans
Least-Safe Vehicles of 2006
The following vehicles earned "poor" ratings on
both the side and rear safety tests that the IIHS conducted.
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The 2006 Kia Optima was one of the worst scoring cars,
with "poor" ratings for side and rear impacts
and "acceptable" ratings for front impact
tests.
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Side impact tests measure how well a passenger is protected
when a vehicle is hit in the side by an SUV or pickup.
The rear safety tests measure how well a seat/head restraint
protects a passenger against neck injury in rear impacts at
low to moderate speeds.
Note: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) also conducts safety tests for frontal and side impacts
(not rear). However, their rankings are based on a different
scale (one to five stars) and test for different things than
the IIHS tests. When the same two cars are compared using
both IIHS ratings and NHTSA ratings, the ratings are often
contradictory.
Recommended Reading
The Safest
and the Most Dangerous Cars and Trucks for 2005
The Top
Six Winter Driving Dangers and How to Handle Them Safely
Sources
MSN
Money: The Least-Safe Cars of 2006
IIHS
Crash Test Results
Ten
of the Safest Cars on the Road