Nissan, Chrysler Minivans Completely Fail New Crash Test

The Nissan Quest, Chrysler Town & Country and the Dodge Grand Caravan have all failed a new test by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS).

Five minivans were subjected to the new test, called the small overlap test, which sees about 25% of the front end of the vehicle hits a solid object at about 65 km/h.

For the Nissan and Chrysler twins, there was two feet intrusion into the cabin while the dummy’s legs were trapped by the intrusion. IIHS says, in a real world scenario, an individual would likely not be able to walk properly ever again in this instance.

It wasn’t all bad news for the Quest as its restraints and head and neck safety received an overall rating of “Good”.

The Toyota Sienna also completed the test and scored a rating of “Acceptable”. There was intrusion to the cabin of about six inches and the dummy’s head slipped off the airbag, while the seat belt let the dummy too far forward. The Sienna’s side air bags were the saving grace to any further injuries to the dummy.

The Honda Odyssey was the only one to fair an overall rating of “Good”.

The Kia Sedona was the only minivan not tested, however it will be subjected to the same test in a couple of weeks.

The test, introduced in 2012, has resulted in many failures in different vehicle segments. Some manufacturers have called the test unfair since they weren’t aware of such a test being introduced and didn’t have the chance to prepare for it. Which is a bit like saying the math test you had in school was unfair because you were up partying all night and didn’t have the chance to study. Just sayin’.

 

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