IIHS Announces Top Ten in "Top Safety Picks"

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety today announces 10 cars (2006 models) that win its first ever Top Safety Pick award. The awards recognize car designs that afford the best protection for people in front, side, and rear crashes, based on performance in Institute tests.

The winning vehicles were chosen from among current models of small, midsize, and large cars plus minivans. There's a winner in three of these four groups. The winners include 2 large car designs, 7 midsize cars, and 1 small car. No minivans meet the Institute's criteria to earn a Top Safety Pick. Pickups and SUVs weren't included in this round of awards because side impact tests of most of these vehicles haven't been conducted yet.

"Now that we're rating vehicles' front, side, and rear crashworthiness, based on test performance, we decided to give consumers an overall assessment based on all three tests. These Top Safety Picks are replacing our previous 'best pick' designations that were awarded separately for front and side crash test performance," Institute president Brian O'Neill explains. "The new awards mean consumers can compare cars' ratings more quickly and easily. They won't have to review multiple sets of test results separately. And when we test new car designs as they are introduced next year, it's possible that some additional models will be added to the 2006 Top Safety Picks."

THE WINNERS

Large
Ford Five Hundred and Mercury Montego (with side airbags)
Audi A6

Midsize
Saab 9-3
Subaru Legacy
Audi A3
Audi A4
Chevrolet Malibuwith optional side airbags
Volkswagen Jetta
Volkswagen Passat

Small
Honda Civic

Minivans
no winners

(CONTINUE...)