Your car choice may or may not have an affect on your miami auto insurance premium, but it is wise to take your personal safety into consideration when deciding what vehicle to purchase. Recently, the IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) conducted crash tests and each car is rated in 4 different categories. 24/7 Wall St. examined examined those ratings and came up with a list of 7 cars that are more dangerous than the rest.
The 4 categories used by the IIHS are:
1. A 40 mph crash test with a frontal offset where the moving vehicle has a head-on collision with a barrier.
2. A test for side-impact crashes with a 3,330-lb object, similar to that of an SUV, striking the driver’s side of the vehicle at 31 mph.
3. Having a metal plate hit one of the vehicle’s corners to find out how much impact it can withstand before it gives way and rolls over.
4. Putting the vehicle through a rear-impact crash test to determine how well the seat belts and seats protect the driver from experiencing whiplash.
24/7 Wall St. also took into consideration what other companies had to say, such as the ratings from Consumer Reports, ratings of crash safety conducted by the Nat’l Hwy Transportation and Safety Administration and the overall report of Initial Quality by J.D. Power & Associates.
The cars with the worst scores tended to have poor grades in the third and fourth categories. And they are…
Number 7:
Suzuki SX4
Bad ratings: Marginal for the rear-impact and rollover crash tests
Out of the 30 plus small cars the IIHS tested, this was the only car that received scores of ‘poor’ or ‘marginal’ in two out of the four ratings. In addition, the SX4 only received a rating of ‘fair’ in side-crash tests performed by the government.
Number 6:
Jeep Wrangler
Bad ratings: Marginal for the rear-impact; marginal for the side-impact (2-door) and poor for the side impact (4-door)
There are only a few cars that tested worse than the 2-door Wrangler with one of them being the larger, 4-door version. A negative result of the IIHS’s side-impact crash test was a dummy being struck by steel bars that support the convertible roof of the 4-door version of the Wrangler. In fact, neither model had any protection for various body parts including the driver’s head and the heads of those in the back seat.
Number 5:
Nissan Pathfinder
Bad ratings: Marginal for the rear-impact and rollover crash tests
On top of unsettling scores from the IIHS, the Pathfinder had approximately a 20 to 30 percent chance of rolling over according to rollover tests performed by the government.
Number 4:
Mazda CX-9
Bad ratings: Marginal for the rear-impact and rollover crash tests
Out of all midsize SUVs the IIHS tested, this one’s ratio of strength-to-weight was the lowest. You may be wondering why that’s bad. This particular ratio measures the amount of force a vehicle’s roof can withstand before it crushes 5 inches, and then that number is divided by how much the vehicle weighs.
Number 3:
Mazda CX-7
Bad ratings: Marginal for the rear-impact and rollover crash tests
Unfortunately, Mazda made this list more than twice. The CX-7 did manage to get scores of ‘good’ in the frontal offset and side-impact tests, but the low grades in the other 2 crash tests really lower its overall safety rating. Next year, the CX-7 will be replaced with the CX-5 and hopefully the new model will come with improved crash test ratings.
Number 2:
Chevrolet Colorado Crew Cab
Bad ratings: Marginal for the rear-impact and rollover crash tests; and poor for the side-impact
These ratings may make you think twice about this vehicle. Additionally, in November of last year, over 5,000 Chevy Colorado pickup trucks were recalled because of concerns over the safety of its seat belts. That does nothing but worsen its low safety rating.
Number 1:
Dodge Ram 1500
Bad ratings: Marginal for the side-impact and rollover crash tests
This latest model unfortunately lengthens the Dodge Ram’s long history of low safety ratings by another year. In the past, the IIHS has given this truck failing marks in frontal offset tests and ratings of ‘poor’ in restraining the dummy and in its protection of left legs and heads. The most recent substandard ratings do nothing to improve its standing among other vehicles.
Whether or not you are in the market to buy a new car, the safety of your vehicle always matters. Again, what you choose to drive may or may not affect your miami car insurance premium but insurance companies may take a vehicle’s safety ratings into consideration when calculating your premium. In that case, getting a safer car may help keep you alive and possibly save you some money on your insurance premium.
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