Luxury Cars Fare Poorly in New IIHS Crash Test

Only three of 11 midsize luxury and near-luxury sedans scored well in a severe offset frontal barrier crash test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

In the new test, which is not required by federal safety standards, a vehicle crashes into a 5-foot-tall rigid barrier at 40 mph. Only 25% of the front end on the driver's side is involved in the impact.

The so-called small overlap test is intended to replicate the forces involved when the front corner of a vehicle hits a pole, tree or another vehicle. According to the institute, such offset impacts account for a major source of the 10,000 fatalities per year that result from frontal crashes.

IIHS says the Acura TL and Volvo S60 earned "good" ratings in the test, and the Infiniti G earned an "acceptable" score.

Vehicles rated "marginal" were the Acura TSX, BMW 3 Series, Lincoln MKZ and Volkswagen CC. Cars earning "poor" ratings included the Audi A4, Lexus ES 350 and IS 250/350 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

IIHS says it conducted its initial round of tests on luxury cars because such vehicles typically benefit from the most advanced safety technology.

The institute says the Volvo S60 was best structurally among the test vehicles, allowing only minor intrusion into the passenger compartment. In contrast, the poorly rated Lexus IS had 10 times the intrusion, and the VW CC lost its driver's side door.

The influential institute says it hopes its new test will coax carmakers into widening the front crush zone and strengthening passenger safety cage structures in their vehicles. Analysts note that making such modifications will probably add vehicle weight and thus reduce fuel economy.

IIHS adds that side airbag systems could play a stronger role in shielding occupants in its new crash test. It points out that side curtain and torso airbags deployed too late or not at all in some vehicles mainly because those systems have been engineered to work only in direct side impacts.

The institute says some carmakers are adjusting their airbag systems to also trigger side airbags in an offset frontal crash.