IIHS Toughens Small-Overlap Barrier Crash Test

Vehicles can no longer earn a top safety rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety unless they deliver the same front-end crash protection on the passenger side that they do for the driver.

IIHS began using its severe small-overlap barrier crash in its ratings calculations four years ago on the driver’s side of the vehicle. The procedure crashes a vehicle into a fixed barrier at 40 mph such that only 25% of the front end overlaps the barrier.

The test is intended to mimic what happens if a car clips an oncoming vehicle or hits a tree or utility pole. Carmakers soon modified the front-end structures of their vehicles to handle such driver-side impacts. But IIHS says some didn’t do the same for the front passenger.

The institute’s new test regimen addresses that inequity by applying the same barrier test to the passenger’s side of the vehicle. IIHS says a just-tested batch of 13 midsize sedans yielded encouraging results (left). Ten of the cars 10 earned a “good” overall rating, the highest possible. “Clearly, some manufacturers were paying attention,” says senior engineer Becky Mueller.

One model, the Volkswagen Jetta, earned a second-best “acceptable” rating in the new test. Two cars—the VW Passat and Chevrolet Malibu—were deemed “marginal” overall. None of the test vehicles scored a bottom-level “poor” rating in any of the six performance measurements.