Few cars perform well in new insurance group crash test

The insurance industry has unveiled a new, tough frontal-crash test. The first batch of 11 luxury and near-luxury cars put to the test by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety didn't fare so well--only three were rated as good or acceptable.

The test rams the front corner of a car into a fixed barrier at 40 mph. The IIHS says the test simulates a car hitting an object such as a tree or utility pole.

This is a tough test. By involving only 25 percent of the front area of a car in the crash, there's much less structure available to absorb impact forces.

The insurance group found that the 2012 Acura TL and Volvo S60 rated good in the test. The 2012 Infiniti G series rated acceptable on the test. Eight other vehicles were rated at marginal or poor, all 2012 models:

-- Acura TSX sedan and wagon

-- BMW 3-series

-- Lincoln MKZ

-- Volkswagen CC

-- Audi A4

-- Mercedes-Benz C-class

-- Lexus ES

-- Lexus IS

Currently, no government in the world mandates use of the 25 percent-offset crash test. The most severe test today is a 40 percent offset, meant to simulate a front collision between two cars. Most carmakers have engineered their vehicles to pass this test.

The IIHS says a quarter of the 10,000 deaths a year from frontal crashes come from hits to a front corner of the car. A crash of this type involves much less of the vehicle's front structure, directing more crash forces into the passenger compartment.

The insurance group notes that in the small-overlap crash, the crash forces are directed into a car's front wheel, suspension and firewall. These areas get less protection from the car's frontal safety cage.

Improving performance on the small-overlap test will require automakers to redesign their vehicles' basic structure--a process that will take several years.

The insurance group noted that most of the vehicles it tested sustained significant deformation and intrusion in the area around the driver's feet. That would lead to severe foot and leg injuries.

Also in some vehicles, the crash forces bent the vehicle's A-pillar, which moved the side-curtain airbag out of position. And the seatbelts in some test cars allowed the dummy's head and torso to move forward too much.

The insurance group said it tested luxury vehicles because they typically are used to introduce new technologies. But of the vehicles tested, only the Volvo S60's design is less than two years old.

The insurance group says it plans to test moderately priced midsize cars next.

By Dale Jewett