The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety put the 2016 Mazda6 through its paces by hitting it hard. The small overlap crash test is arguably one of the best ways of finding out if a vehicle is safe or not.
Unsurprisingly, hitting a barrier at 40 mph (64 km/h) is no biggie for the 2016 Mazda6 facelift. The IIHS awarded the mid-size sedan Top Safety Pick+ and Good ratings overall for its crashworthiness. From the side impact crash test to the roof’s strength and protection offered by the head restraints and seats, the IIHS gave the Mazda model a big thumbs up.
Just to put the 2016 Mazda6’s crashworthiness into perspective, the second video showcases the IIHS’ small overlap front crash test of the 2014 Mazda6. Safety-wise, the 2016 model year adds a rollover sensor, which is designed to deploy the side curtain airbags in the event of an impending vehicle rollover.
Despite everything, the IIHS highlighted a number of safety drawbacks on the 2.5-liter variant of the 6 they crashed in the name of consumer advice. The IIHS peeps inform that injuries to the right lower leg would be possible in a crash of this severity if you’re behind the wheel of the 3,241-pound (1,470 kilos) Mazda6.
Based on dummy kinematics measurements, we’re told: “the dummy’s head remained largely in contact with the frontal airbag during the crash, but its head still moved toward the A-pillar because the seat belt allowed excessive forward excursion of the dummy's head and torso.”
Other than the standard array of airbags and side curtain inflators, the 2016 Mazda6 sedan benefits from i-ActivSense. This is a suite of active safety features that includes, among others, Smart City Brake Support.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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