Thirteen mid-sized cars have earned high marks on the insurance industry's newest frontal-crash test, but a pair of Toyota models tested fared worse than the rest. The so-called small overlap test involves crashing the front corner of a car into a barrier at 40 mph. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety devised the test to simulate a collision with a stationary object such as a tree or a utility pole.
Just three out of 11 luxury cars rated "good" or "acceptable" on the insurance industry group's first round of tests this summer, but today the IIHS gave a good rating to the four-door Honda Accord and the Suzuki Kizashi, and an acceptable rating to 11 more mid-sized cars.
"Normally we see new technology and new innovations go into the luxury cars first, so we see them doing better," IIHS President Adrian Lund said. "This is a bit of a surprise."
Three other models -- the Hyundai Sonata, Chevrolet Malibu and Volkswagen Jetta sedan -- rated as "marginal."
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