In recent crash-testing reports released by the Institute for Highway Safety, Subaru received another top safety award - extending the company's legacy for safe and fun-to-drive, high performance vehicles. Among leading manufacturers, the Subaru Forester and Mitsubishi Outlander Sport were the only cars to pass the "small overlap" crash test - a crash simulation where only a small portion of the front end of the vehicle is involved. In fact, the Forester was the only SUV to earn a "Good" rating, while the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport scored "Acceptable". According to the IHSS, these types of crashes make up for about 25 percent of serious injuries and fatalities that occur in frontal accidents in the US.
This news comes around the same time as a glowing review from Consumer Reports, citing the redesigned 2014 Forester as the best small SUV on the market. "Subaru continues to put function in front of form," says Jake Fisher, head of Consumer Reports auto test center. "Forester focuses on the fundamentals with a space efficient design." This year also marks the fourth consecutive year IIHS has awarded a top safety pick winner for all Subaru lineup models (Legacy, Outback, Forester, Tribeca, Impreza, XV Crosstrek and BRZ) currently sold in the North American region.
Subarus are designed for safety, featuring an innovative ring-shaped reinforcement frame to better protect the passenger cabin from high-impart crashes, as well as an advanced airbag system and rollover sensor (the rollover sensor is available only on the Forester, Outback and Tribeca models). Subaru's engineers also design their vehicles with minimal blind spots, with large windows and rear-vision camera capabilities on most models.
"With the redesigned Forester, Subaru's engineers set out to do well in our new test, and they succeeded," said Joe Nolan, vice president for vehicle research at IIHS. "This is exactly how we hoped manufacturers would respond to improve protection for people in these kinds of serious frontal crashes."
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