Although we may sit back in our thrones and criticize a lot of the all-new products coming to market, it's times like this you really have to just applaud the engineers of great products. With the 2014 Nissan Rogue though, its team gets a standing ovation.
That's because the Rogue earned an "A+" in its crash tests. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) gave the 2014 Rogue its top safety award due to good performance in its barrage of testing.
Considering the organization continues to make testing even more difficult to win, it is a clear sign that vehicles not only are improving in design and quality, but also safety. Good on ya, Nissan!
For fun we've included two videos of the IIHS testing the Rogue. It's like performance art. Check out how the vehicle's cage remains completely intact.
**Check out the IIHS' press release below for MORE information!
IIHS' press release follows:
Nissan Rogue earns Institute's top safety award
ARLINGTON, Va. - The Nissan Rogue, a small SUV redesigned for the 2014 model year, earns the IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ award for good performance in each of the Institute's five crashworthiness evaluations, plus a basic rating for front crash prevention. To qualify for the Institute's highest designation, vehicles must earn good ratings in the moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint evaluations, as well as a good or acceptable rating in the small overlap front test. A new requirement for 2014 is that vehicles also must earn a basic, advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention. The Rogue's optional forward collision warning system is rated basic for meeting performance criteria established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
In the small overlap test, the driver's space was maintained reasonably well. Injury measures recorded on the dummy indicated low risk of any significant injuries in a crash of this severity. The dummy's head made good contact with the front airbag, which stayed in position during the crash, and the side curtain airbag deployed to protect the head from contact with side structures.
The Institute added the small overlap test to its lineup of vehicle safety evaluations in 2012. 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-tall rigid barrier at 40 mph. A 50th percentile male Hybrid III dummy is belted in the driver seat.
The new Rogue is an improvement over the previous generation, which was rated marginal in the small overlap test and acceptable in the roof strength evaluation. The new Rogue offers an optional forward collision warning system, a first for the model. The old Rogue, manufactured since 2008, is still in production and sells as the Nissan Rogue Select.