Each year, safety reports by industry-leading reviewers are eagerly anticipated as each auto manufacturer aspires to call its latest models safety award winners—a particular benefit to those models which are designed and intended for the crucial family vehicle market.
After much anticipation, the results are in from the Institute Insurance for Highway Safety and, after conducting their studies, the standard bearer in auto safety research has ranked the top 3 safest models to be on the road in 2013: the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco, the 2012 Hyundai Azera, and the 2012 Toyota Prius C. The Malibu and Prius are unsurprising winners, having topped the list in previous years, while the latest Azera, which had not been updated since 2006, was facing the Institute’s current test standards for the first time. Testing procedures use controlled laboratory conditions to subject the cars to front, rear, and side collisions as well as rollover testing. The rollover test is particularly rigorous. In it, each vehicle’s roof must be proven able to withstand four times the vehicle’s weight without collapsing.
The Institute’s tests are viewed as far more rigorous than their federally-administered counterparts and have become an industry standard, with their seal of approval as a must-have in the market for family sedans.