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Toyota, BMW donâ€™t not make top safety picks

20 November 2009 11:36 (UTC +04:00)

Bakuâ€“ APA-Economics. Ford, Subaru and Volkswagen have come out on top as automakers with some of the safest vehicles for 2010, but missing from the list are heavyweights Toyota and BMW, in part because of a new roof-strength requirement aimed at protecting passengers in rollover crashes.
That new criteria cut the number of top-rated vehicles to 27 for the 2010 model year, compared with 94 in 2009 in tests conducted by the Virginia-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The institute awarded its "top safety pick" on Wednesday to 19 passenger cars and eight sport utility vehicles for the 2010 model year.
Ford Motor Co. and its Volvo unit received the most awards with six, followed by five awards apiece for Japanese automaker Subaru and German automaker Volkswagen AG and its Audi unit.
Subaru was the only automaker with an IIHS winner in all four vehicle classes in which it competes.
Toyota, BMW, Mazda, and Mitsubishi, which previously did well in IIHS tests, did not make the list this year.
A Toyota spokesman called the institute’s findings "extreme and misleading," considering that Toyota and its units make 38 different vehicles and that only three were tested for roof strength. BMW AG says none of its models were tested by the institute and that its cars must pass rigorous rollover tests conducted internally.
"With the addition of our new roof strength evaluation, our crash test results now cover all four of the most common kinds of crashes," said IIHS president Adrian Lund in a statement. "Consumers can use this list to zero in on the vehicles that are on the top rung for safety."
Below is the IIHS list of vehicles given a top safety pick.

LARGE CARS

Buick LaCrosse
Ford Taurus
Lincoln MKS
Volvo S80
MIDSIZE CARS
Audi A3
Chevrolet Malibu (built after Oct. 2009)
Chrysler Sebring (4-door with optional ESC)
Dodge Avenger
Mercedes C Class
Subaru Legacy
Subaru Outback
Volkswagen Jetta (4-door)
Volkswagen Passat (4-door)
Volvo C30

SMALL CARS

Honda Civic (4-door with optional ESC, except Si)
Kia Soul
Nissan Cube
Subaru Impreza (except WRX)
Volkswagen Golf (4-door)

MIDSIZE SUVs

Dodge Journey
Subaru Tribeca
Volvo XC60
Volvo XC90

COMPACT SUVs

Honda Element
Jeep Patriot (with optional side thorax airbags)
Subaru Forester
Volkswagen Tiguan