2014 Toyota Corolla Joins Camry, Prius V And Rav4 As IIHS As Small Overlap Crash Test Flunkies

The redesigned 2014 Toyota Corolla – one of the automaker’s most important models — earned a Marginal rating in the new and challenging small overlap frontal crash test, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said on Thursday.

The results are the latest indication of Toyota’s struggles to score well on this test. No Toyota vehicle has yet received the highest rating of Good in the small overlap front test. In December, when the 2013 Camry and Prius V were tested, both received the lowest rating of Poor. So did the 2013 RAV4, in July, despite changes to the steering column and footwell padding. The Scion tC is the only Toyota vehicle to get an Acceptable rating. In contrast, five of eight Honda models tested have received ratings of Good.
Because of its Marginal rating, the Corolla’s current standing as an I.I.H.S. Top Safety Pick will be going away, as the safety group moves to toughen the way it rates vehicles over all.

In August, when the I.I.H.S. released results for 12 other small cars, it did not test the Corolla because the new model was about to be introduced. When design changes are imminent, the institute, which is financed by the insurance industry, postpones testing so that its ratings do not quickly become obsolete.

The new small overlap evaluation, which the I.I.H.S. added to its repertory of crash tests last year, is intended to replicate what happens when the front corner of a vehicle collides with another vehicle or with an object like a tree or utility pole. The institute rates on a scale of Good, Acceptable, Marginal and Poor.

The Corolla’s performance qualifies it as an I.I.H.S. Top Safety Pick for 2013. Currently, to earn that designation a vehicle must earn a Good rating in the group’s four other crash tests, regardless of how it performs in the small overlap test.

But the criteria will change when the institute announces its 2014 Top Safety Picks in December. At that point, models will have to earn a Good or Acceptable rating in the small overlap front test, as well as Good ratings in its other four tests (moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraints).

The I.I.H.S. will up the ante for its highest rating, Top Safety Pick+, as well. For 2014, vehicles must earn a Basic, Advanced or Superior rating for frontal crash prevention systems (forward collision warning and automatic braking) in its newest tests, announced last month. In addition, vehicles must earn a Good or Acceptable rating in the small overlap test, and Good ratings in the other four tests.

In response to the Corolla’s scores, Toyota pointed out that the testing conducted by I.I.H.S. exceeded federal motor vehicle safety standards.

“With the small overlap test, the institute has raised the bar again, and we are responding to the challenge,” a spokeswoman for Toyota, Cindy Knight, said in an e-mail. “We are looking at a range of solutions to achieve greater crash performance in this area.”

Source (via www.autospies.com);
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