New Prius Crash Test: Good is Great

I purchased my 2010 Prius only a couple of months ago, and one of the reasons I waited so long to buy any model of Prius was because I wasn’t confident about how well it would perform in a crash.

Prior to buying it, I owned several small to mid-sized sport utility vehicles (Honda CR-V, Lexus RX, Mercedes ML, and Toyota Highlander) and I always felt that sitting up a little higher gave me greater visibility, and because SUVs were larger and heavier than average sized vehicles, they would provide me with more protection in an accident. Even with the increased rollover risk, right or wrong, I figured that sticking with a 20 MPG SUV was safer than buying a smaller car, like the Gen II or Gen III Prius.

One crash test video I’d seen when doing my research is below, and it shows a Generation 2 Prius going head to head with a much larger sport utility vehicle. In my opinion, the SUV faired better than the Prius, but I’m no expert so I’ll let you be the judge as to how well or poorly either vehicle performed.

If you are interested, here is a link to several more Prius crash test videos – but he main reason I’m writing this article is because the Insurance Institute For Highway Safety (iihs) just announced that the 3rd Generation, 2010 Toyota Prius earned their Top Safety Pick award. When I read the news I wanted to know more.

First of all, in order for a vehicle to become a Top Safety Pick, it must have electronic stability control and it must earn a “good” rating on all three crash tests (front, side, and rear). While good doesn’t sound great, it is in fact the best rating given. The other ratings are acceptable, marginal and poor.

The IIHS side impact crash test simulates an SUV or pickup truck hitting the tested vehicle at 31 mph. The frontal trials mimic a 40 mph offset crash with another vehicle in the same weight as the test car. The rear sled test simulates the stationary test vehicle being rear-ended by one going 20 mph.

Earlier this year Forbes had an article that highlighted the most dangerous vehicles, based on these same crash tests and others from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The Chevy Trailblazer and Jeep Libery (SUVs), Kia Rio and Hyundai Accent (small sedans), and Ford Ranger (small pickup) all made Forbes’ list, not one you want to be on by the way. My point in mention the article is that contrary to what some believe, not every car gets a good rating…it is earned. From what I’ve read, only about 1 in 3 small cars earn a Good rating.

According to an article in the New York Times, the IIHS didn’t actually do their own front and side crash tests on the 2010 Prius, but instead relied on prior crash test data from Toyota on the Gen II model. I couldn’t find this mention on the IIHS website, but with the Gen III Prius being totally redesigned – I don’t think we should rely on old data, even if this is now the standard.

Earning the IIHS Top Safety award is the best any vehicle can do, so in that regard I’m glad to hear the news. At the same time, the laws of physics don’t change because of it. Now we wait for the NHTSA report and hopefully some video to back it up.