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2011 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's TOP SAFETY PICK Awards

66 WINNERS OF 2011 TOP SAFETY PICK AWARD
AUTOMAKERS QUICKLY IMPROVE ROOFS TO BOOST ROLLOVER PROTECTION

ARLINGTON, VA - Sixty-six vehicles earn the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's TOP SAFETY PICK award for 2011 (list follows), including 40 cars, 25 SUVs, and a minivan. TOP SAFETY PICK recognizes vehicles that do the best job of protecting people in front, side, rollover, and rear crashes based on good ratings in Institute tests. Winners also must have available electronic stability control, a crash avoidance feature that significantly reduces crash risk. The ratings help consumers pick vehicles that offer a higher level of protection than federal safety standards require.

Last year the Institute toughened criteria for TOP SAFETY PICK by adding a requirement that all qualifiers must earn a good rating for performance in a roof strength test to assess protection in a rollover crash. The move sharply narrowed the initial field of 2010 winners. At the beginning of the 2010 model year, only 27 vehicles qualified for the award, but the number grew to 58 as auto manufacturers reworked existing designs and introduced new models. Now another 10 vehicles join the winners' list for 2011. Two discontinued models drop off.

Front-runners: Hyundai/Kia and Volkswagen/Audi each have 9 winners for 2011. Next in line with 8 awards apiece are General Motors, Ford/Lincoln, and Toyota/Lexus/Scion. Subaru is the only manufacturer with a winner in all the vehicle classes in which it competes. Subaru earns 5 awards for 2011.

"Safety is a priority among this crop of winners," Lund says. "From the start these manufacturers set out to design vehicles that would earn TOP SAFETY PICK, even though we?ve made it harder to win."

The redesigned Volkswagen Touareg  is the only large SUV to earn TOP SAFETY PICK for 2011. The Institute doesn?t normally evaluate SUVs this large, but Volkswagen requested crash tests to demonstrate the Touareg?s crashworthiness.

All 66 Winners
Large cars
Buick LaCrosse, Regal
BMW 5 series
Cadillac CTS
Ford Taurus
Hyundai Genesis
Infiniti M
Lincoln MKS
Mercedes E class sedan
Mercedes E class coupe
Toyota Avalon
Volvo S80


 Midsize cars
Audi A3, A4
Chevrolet Malibu
Chrysler 200
Dodge Avenger
Ford Fusion
Hyundai Sonata
Kia Optima
Lincoln MKZ
Mercedes C class
Subaru Legacy, Outback
Volkswagen Jetta sedan
Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen
Volvo C30
 

Small cars
Chevrolet Cruze
Honda Civic
Kia Forte, Soul
Mitsubishi Lancer
Nissan Cube
Scion tC, xB
Subaru Impreza
Toyota Corolla
Volkswagen Golf , GTI
Minicar
Ford Fiesta

Minivan
Toyota Sienna





 

Large SUV
Volkswagen Touareg

Midsize SUVs
Audi Q5
Cadillac SRX
Chevrolet Equinox
Dodge Journey
Ford Explorer, Flex
GMC Terrain
Hyundai Santa Fe
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Kia Sorento
Lexus RX
Lincoln MKT
Mercedes GLK
Subaru Tribeca
Toyota Highlander, Venza
Volvo XC60, XC90

 Small SUVs
Honda Element
Hyundai Tucson
Jeep Patriot
Kia Sportage
Subaru Forester
Volkswagen Tiguan













 


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2011 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's TOP SAFETY PICK Awards
66 WINNERS OF 2011 TOP SAFETY PICK AWARDAUTOMAKERS QUICKLY IMPROVE ROOFS TO BOOST ROLLOVER PROTECTIONARLINGTON, ...
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