New additions to the list of safest cars of 2015 - Boston.com
Each year the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety puts out a list of Top Safety Picks and Top Safety Picks+. To qualify as a Top Safety Pick, cars must earn a strong grade in the Institute’s “small overlap” crash test and meet the Institute’s standards for moderate overlap front, side, roof strength, and roof strength tests. IIHS awards the Top Safety Pick+ designation to vehicles that meet this criteria and have an “advanced” or “superior” front crash prevention system, which means vehicles must be able to stop or slow down without any assistance from the driver at... 2015 Buick Encore (Top Safety Pick): The Encore is the first Buick to qualify for an award with IIHS since 2013. It made the cut after improvements were made to the structure for “better small overlap front protection,” a test in which one quarter... 2016 Kia Sorento (Top Safety Pick): The 2015 Kia Sorento received a “poor” rating for its small overlap front crash test, but moved it up to “good” for its 2016 model. According to IIHS, “the small overlap test replicates what happens when the front corner of a vehicle collides with another vehicle or an object such as a tree or a utility pole. 2015 Nissan Sentra (Top Safety Pick): The Sentra also went from a “poor” rating to a “good” rating this year. A door sill was modified to “reduce intrusion in small overlap crashes,” and a side airbag was made bigger. Source: www.boston.com
