Ford's Focus and Volvo's C30 received the highest rating in the latest safety tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), with seven small cars and ten midsize moderately priced models now holding the award. Out of the five coupe cars tested, Chevrolet Cobalt, Ford Focus, Honda Civic and Scion tC, four were rated as "good" in the 40 mph front crash offset, with only the tC receiving the "acceptable" rating.
Specifically, in the side tests, both the C30 and the Focus earned "good" ratings, while Civic, Cobalt and tC were rated "acceptable". On the other hand, the Scion was rated the poorest in rear crash protection tests, with all but the tC receiving good or acceptable ratings.
"We're often asked about the crash test performance of 2-door cars," says David Zuby, Institute senior vice president for vehicle research. "Design and structural differences mean we can't automatically apply our test results of 4-door cars to 2-door versions of the same models. We decided to do these tests to see how the 2-doors stack up in protecting people in the 3 most common kinds of crashes."
"Overall the results for 2-door cars are good news," Zuby says. "All but one earn good ratings in our frontal offset test. Only 2 of the 5 earn this rating for protection in side crashes, but none of the 5 earns anything less than an acceptable rating. This is pretty good, considering how demanding the side test is. It simulates being struck by a pickup or SUV."
As for the 2-door - 4-door cars comparison, the IIHS says there's only little difference between them in frontal tests, but results in side crashes are much more obvious. The 2-door Focus for instance received a higher rating compared to the 4-door version which earned an "acceptable" score in the side tests.
Specifically, in the side tests, both the C30 and the Focus earned "good" ratings, while Civic, Cobalt and tC were rated "acceptable". On the other hand, the Scion was rated the poorest in rear crash protection tests, with all but the tC receiving good or acceptable ratings.
"We're often asked about the crash test performance of 2-door cars," says David Zuby, Institute senior vice president for vehicle research. "Design and structural differences mean we can't automatically apply our test results of 4-door cars to 2-door versions of the same models. We decided to do these tests to see how the 2-doors stack up in protecting people in the 3 most common kinds of crashes."
"Overall the results for 2-door cars are good news," Zuby says. "All but one earn good ratings in our frontal offset test. Only 2 of the 5 earn this rating for protection in side crashes, but none of the 5 earns anything less than an acceptable rating. This is pretty good, considering how demanding the side test is. It simulates being struck by a pickup or SUV."
As for the 2-door - 4-door cars comparison, the IIHS says there's only little difference between them in frontal tests, but results in side crashes are much more obvious. The 2-door Focus for instance received a higher rating compared to the 4-door version which earned an "acceptable" score in the side tests.