Top Safety Picks 2010

To determine crashworthiness — how well a vehicle protects its occupants in a crash — the Institute rates vehicles good, acceptable, marginal, or poor based on performance in high-speed front and side crash tests, a rollover test, plus evaluations of seat/head restraints for protection against neck injuries in rear impacts. To earn Top Safety Pick for 2010 a vehicle must have good ratings in all four Institute tests. In addition, the winning vehicles must offer electronic stability control. See past winners

40 mph frontal offset crash tests are good assessments of vehicles' structural designs.

Frontal offset crash test details, ratings criteria,
and crash test verification program

Side crash tests are good assessments of occupant protection when vehicles are struck in the side by SUVs or pickups.

Side impact crash test details, ratings criteria,
and crash test verification program

Vehicles equipped with side airbag protection systems

Rollover ratings assess vehicle roof strength for protection in rollover crashes. Roof strength is a new component of the TOP SAFETY PICK criteria for 2010 models.

Procedures for rating roof strength

Rear crash protection/head restraint ratings focus on how well seat/head restraint combinations protect against whiplash injury.

Procedures for rating seat/head restraints
Rear crash protection ratings by make: select Acura Audi BMW Buick Cadillac Chevrolet Chrysler Daewoo Dodge Eagle Ford GMC Honda Hummer Hyundai Infiniti Isuzu Jaguar Jeep Kia Land Rover Lexus Lincoln Mazda Mercedes Mercury Mini Mitsubishi Nissan Oldsmobile Plymouth Pontiac Porsche Saab Saturn Scion Smart Subaru Suzuki Toyota Volkswagen Volvo

Electronic stability control (ESC) significantly reduces crash risk, especially the risk of fatal single-vehicle crashes, by helping drivers maintain control of their vehicles during emergency maneuvers.

Vehicles equipped with ESC by make and model

Bumper evaluations — The Institute's series of 4 tests (front and rear full-width impacts at 6 mph and front and rear corner impacts at 3 mph) produce the kinds and amounts of damage that commonly occur in low-speed collisions.