Subaru Forester Outshines Other Small SUVs In Latest IIHS Crash Test
(CBS) - The 2014 Subaru Forester was the only one of 13 small SUVs to earn an overall rating of good in the small overlap front crash test from the the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
The Forester, along with the 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, which earns acceptable, are the latest vehicles to qualify for the Institute's recently inaugurated top honor - top safety pick.
Each of the other 11 SUVs earns either a poor or marginal rating.
"With the redesigned Forester, Subaru's engineers set out to do well in our new test, and they succeeded," said Joe Nolan, the Institute's vice president for vehicle research. "This is exactly how we hoped manufacturers would respond to improve protection for people in these kinds of serious frontal crashes."
IIHS added the small overlap test to its lineup of vehicle safety evaluations last year. It replicates what happens when the front corner of a vehicle strikes another vehicle or an object like a tree or a utility pole. In the test, 25 percent of a vehicle's front end on the driver side strikes a 5-foot wall at 40 mph. A dummy is belted in the driver seat.
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