Not that it comes as a shock to anyone who follows the auto industry. The Ford Taurus has earned an IIHS Top Safety Pick for the 4th year in a row. This is just another in a long list of awards the new Taurus has been racking up in recent weeks, including being named Esquire Magazine’s car of the year for the SHO. For more details, head on over to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Chevy Aveo outperforms Honda, Toyota, Kia and Hyundai in low speed crash tests
Apparently when people get a good deal on a Hyundai or Kia, they need to look more closely at the product they are buying. I’m sure many out there would believe the Kia Rio to be a fairly inexpensive car to own, what with it’s 10 year, 100,000 mile warranty what have you. However, don’t expect that low cost of ownership to carry over after you’ve been involved in a low speed crash.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tested seven popular small cars – the Smart ForTwo, Chevy Aveo, Mini Cooper, Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, Hyundai Accent and Kia Rio – in four low-speed tests: front bumper, front corner, rear bumper and finally rear corner. The cost of repairs was then used to rate the vehicles. The Kia Rio suffered $9,380 worth of damage from those four crashes. That’s almost enough to go out and buy a new Kia Rio! This staggering number earned it a “poor” rating. The other cars that fell into the “poor” category were the Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, and Hyundai Accent.
The Chevy Aveo did one better with a “marginal” rating, while the Smart ForTwo earned an “acceptable” rating. For the details, head on over to Jalopnik.
2010 Lincoln MKZ (Ford)
Ford’s goal of being the leader in fuel efficiency, safety, quality and technology takes another step forward as the 2010 Lincoln MKZ is named a Top Safety Pick for 2009 by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The MKZ earned “Good” ratings in frontal offset, side impact and rear crash tests. For the details, head on over to the IIHS.
