Small SUV crash avoidance systems struggle in new test - IIHS News
IIHS news release • April 25, 2024
Few small SUVs excel in new IIHS front crash prevention test
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is updating its vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention test to address crashes that occur at higher speeds and those in which the struck vehicle is a motorcycle or large truck. Only one of the first 10 small SUVs evaluated earns a good rating.
“This is a vital update to one of our most successful test programs,” IIHS President David Harkey said. “The vast majority of new vehicles now come with automatic emergency braking, and our research shows the technology prevents as many as half of all front-to-rear crashes. This new, tougher evaluation targets some of the most dangerous front-to-rear crashes that are still happening.”
The Subaru Forester is the only small SUV to earn a good rating in the updated test. Two others, the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, are rated acceptable. The Ford Escape, Hyundai Tucson and Jeep Compass earn marginal ratings, while the Chevrolet Equinox, Mazda CX-5, Mitsubishi Outlander and Volkswagen Taos are all rated poor.
Full text of release at go.iihs.org/news-fcp-test
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Subaru seems to be the safest non-luxury carmaker. Bravo!
True but that's also the reason we can't get a convertible BRZ :(
And they're getting more luxurious! All of their newer models have an "excellent" rating for ride quality, better than some luxury brands. Also the 2025 Forester will have a 39% reduction in cabin noise, so I really think they're on a roll.
Yeah, that's why lesbians love it
@@awakenedone7577 and anyone who has kids in the back seat
If only they can solve their reliability problems
Please conduct these at 65 mph or higher since many people get rear ended on highways when the traffic stops suddenly.
You can't fix stupid. They're brakes not miracles. Stop tailgating and pay attention.
They'd all fail.
@@patton3338wow you solved all traffic collisions. Congrats
It’s an aid not a fail safe
Although Forester is one of the oldest model among this test vehicles, its still benchmark for the safety.
Another advantage for Subaru is that in bad weather, the cameras are cleared by the wipers, which is not the case of vehicles where it is in the front grille.
Great point
You’re confusing radar and cameras. All cameras used for forward collison detection is behind the windshield glass, but the radar is in the front grille.
but that also means the wiper will block its vision
@@prathamshenoy9840 is the wiper blocking your vision when in use? No? Okey so the camera wont be either.
I'm fairly sure most ADAS systems use bumper-mounted radar in conjunction with windshield-mounted cameras. Bumper mounted cameras tend to only be used for 360 degree panoramic view (which is why they point downwards instead of forwards)
This is equipment is an advantage, but let's get real. People need to pay attention to their driving.
You have solved all traffic accidents congrats
I daily drive a 2010 N16 Sunny and it is technically provides a 2001 to late 90s kind of feel with the lack of sensors and buttons everywhere. i’ve yet to get involved in an accident despite driving for 8 years. The key is to use your awareness and functioning brain.
People need to be forced to drive a Plymouth fury 3, chevy impala, c/k 1500, if you drive for a year and don't die, you may now get a driver's license 😂
@zhila5958 ahhhh thats just it though, many are missing that brain part of the equation 😢
@@chewthegum I have been in 2 accident in 42 years of driving and neither was my fault.
And that forester is older than a lot of the other vehicles tested it’s getting replaced this year
True but it has the latest version of Eyesight which allows it to do well in these tests.
Subaru eyesight is a beast of a system
Nice Video IIHS! Great Job Adding Stuff!
I’m disappointed about the Mazda, my Daughter just got a CX-5 🤨
Don’t be. My CX5 has already stopped 2x to avoid a crash. These tests, meh sometimes
Mazda has been struggling
These tests do not consider false alerts. The automated systems that are more sensitive tend to do better in the crash tests, but ... in the real world... they can drive you mad, or even cause crashes when they trigger themselves unnecessarily. If there are many false alerts, beeps and "BRAKE!" warnings, drivers eventually start to ignore them.
I wouldn’t sweat it. Paying attention to the road will do way better then some janky computer
Tell her to pay attention to the road...
One of my fears is driving on the highway in thick fog and not seeing a stationary semi and not be able to stop in time, or stop and then someone coming behind me and not seeing me in time. So I wonder how these systems perform in thick downpour, heavy snowy weather and fog.
Or with bugs or mud splattered on the camera lens, or after a vandal smeared goo on the camera lens on purpose . . . or the most-likely failure, the car is old and it costs more to fix the electronics than the car's worth.
Heavy rain will definitely reduce the effectiveness of any sensor used. A radar likely won't see any reduced function due to dense fog, if the camera is still required for a warning, then you will likely have issues.
@@floycewhite6991I mean this is the very DEFINITION of “glass half empty” thinking. No one is suggesting (or expecting) that these systems will perform with perfect accuracy or consistency in every situation comprising hundreds of thousands of variables (including, god forbid, a vandal inexplicably and randomly smearing your car’s windscreen camera), but how about we acknowledge and celebrate how far this tech has come in only a few short years?! It will only get better, but by all means, zero in on how imperfect our world is….
@@sjb2471 Section 8 brings mischief to your neighborhood. At any rate, 20 years from now, I won't want my old but still-running car to suddenly stop on the freeway because its electronics are too expensive to fix.
Great question
Why nobody mentions that Subaru Eyesight uses cameras for emergency braking. It is quite obviously superior to systems relying only on radar.
You don't expect a 2-minute video to contain all the information, do you?
Great sensor testing. It's vital to keep pushing the automakers to improve.
Thank you for your hard work.
Why is there no Volvo Test??!!
IMO, this test is so much more valuable to so many more vehicle occupants that that "new moderate" collision. PLEASE prioritize this type of test vs. that, which only applies to a small sliver of vehicle-related injuries and deaths.
Thank you for doing this research and trying to keep the world safe
Has a Rivian R1 been evaluated in these tests?
Those poor and marginal brands should not offer self driving features UNTIL they can master the collision alert and auto breaking. Subaru proved it can be implemented correctly WITHOUT impacting the motorcycle or car up front!!
That's because Subaru has the biggest development budget. The others could do better if they keep developing the software.
Hello IIHS, will there be a comparison video as well, or only the website infos? Thank you.
Interesting that they chose round metric speeds (50, 60 and 70 kmh)
That's like saying interesting, this human likes ice cream. They aren't going to choose a speed of 68kmh
@@gamingwitharlen2267 thats not what i mean. He mentioned speed in miles per hour.
It may be that they want to align with EuroNCAP or other global standards.
In my day we called them a half crown, a farthing and a bakers duplex, but that was before kilo meters were discovered.
Great observation. I presume it's because metric is simply better for science! We are behind the times and need to dump the imperial system
before war we asked 4active group to produce n1 (van) size soft target, and that's was possible. maybe you can ask them for soft target trailer size, to make your testing much easier?
Thank you IIHS for all you do towards improving safety. And thank you to the winners for safer improvements to your vehicles. To the others, Cmon please do better.
I'd love to see safety crash testing with mismatched vehicles. Ex, a huge pickup truck such as a new Silverado vs a standard sedan There needs to be a holistic safety limit on the size of the vehicles and our current testing fails to capture this. (Not to mention tall vehicle front hoods vs pedestrians...)
1:46 1:48 Motorcyclists beware.
None survived being that they were split in half every time. Oh the humanity!
Keep up the great work!
Never sit directly behind a car or truck on a motorcycle, always position the machine closest to the lane markers. Then if the vehicle behind cannot stop, the motorcycle can go between the cars or edges of the road to escape.
Best: Subaru Worst: Chevy, VW, Mitsubishi, Mazda
My Hyundai Tucson has stopped me from having a collision before
Do you have any information on if these cars at least attempt to stop at higher speeds? Or is it too split second for them still?
I have a feeling it depends on if it's a stationary/neat stationary object. I believe above a certain speed they are not designed to react to stationary objects so it may not react to a line of already stopped cars at highway speed.
Do you test for false alerts? When automated braking systems are triggered without an actual emergency (e.g. by a car in the lane next to you)... it has the potential to cause crashes.
Safety. It's what makes a subaru, a subaru.
Except side collision and frontal collision lolololol
I did not see any Volvo there🤔
The link to the full text release doesn’t work. 🤦♂️
Looks like it works now.
If they tested a tesla, it wouldn't apply the brakes at all for the motorcycle...
Tesla AEB scored very well in previous IIHS testing. It's one of the best.
No Volvo xc40?
do these systems just see an object or can it see the "metal" the object is made of? Nylon parachute cars and motorcycles "look" like the real deal but do not have the radar reflectivity/return the real deal has. In tests that use just nylon blow up cars, a radar based system will struggle unless some actual metal (and plastic) are are added (in my opinion).
Why are tests not conducted at like highway speeds ie: 65MPH etc
Because that doesn't represent the majority of driving. Also, they started testing at lower speeds and have been ramping up as systems improve.
@@EmilyMatthias0 thank you, I guess this makes sense
when are we going to see test like bikers swerving in to overtake, kids suddenly running across the road etc.?
I’m guessing the systems that failed to perform are systems that are only using 1 camera and no radar. These systems really struggle to judge distance, especially on small objects. All systems really need to be using either 2 cameras (like the Subaru and probably the Toyota) for stereoscopic vision or a camera and radar.
very good
thats just a nice subaru advertisement
If only people drove at 31-37mph... Even in 35 zones I regularly see people going 50+
Try running the tests with a semi accelerating behind the test vehicle, to see whether the system is smart enough to sacrifice a motorcyclist to prevent a worse rear-end collision. Or with a simulated disabled truck at a light that just turned green, with fast cross-traffic coming from both directions, to see whether the system will rear-end the truck to avoid getting T-boned.
i think they only have front cameras so there’s no way of knowing cars around/benind. also they’re designed to protect you from hitting someone, those behind you have their own responsibility to not hit you
@@loeuf Legally, yes. Practically, no. I teach my kids the 3 rules of driving: don't hit anything, don't let anything hit you, and try to obey the rules. Not letting anything hit you is something only a skilled driver with over 100k miles can do. Having said that, I also teach them to floor it when anyone tries to attack or stop the car. Someone who can control his baser impulses is more valuable to society than someone who can't.
Keep up the great work. It's unfortunate that people rarely drive below 37 mph though.
This headline is misleading. They only tested certain models not all small SUV's.
I could easily watch a 30+ min vid with detailed results for each car/suv, and I'm guessing most of those who already watched this short vid would too
You should also test how well the drivers window holds up to being repeated punched - For when the forward collision system fails and you hit a real biker. 😊
0:33 for the civilized world, those speeds are 50 km an hour, 60 km an hour, and 69 km an hour which technically I believe should be 70.
These systems don't have to work alone, they need to communicate blind spots between them
Yep... this is what is needed for true "autonomous" driving... every car needs to be aware of every other car.
@@GetOffMyyLawn This also allows corrections from neighboring cars if mistakes are about to be done by a car in traffic
nissan rogue?
Bottom line: Drive your car carefully. There’s too much overpriced tech these days.
When the car is involved in a high speed pursuit shouldn't these systems make it easier for cops to stop them
They still worked somewhat, thats good to see. Anything is great compared to full blast. Personally I know a lot of people prefer to turn these systems off, they can get things wrong.
How many carjackings are happening because cars automatically stop?
The reason why Mazda performed bad is because its Collision Avoidance System only works at speed up to 25mph.
"Small" suvs
Mur-cah. Land of F-250s.
Ok
This is unreasonably funny to me ... 1:56
PLS also test Tesla
We all need Tesla Cybertruck crash test.
Can't really crash something that's been recalled can you?
They said they wont because it hasn't sold in high enough volumes yet. The recall has nothing to do with it.
@@ethanmckibbin Yes you obviously can. Since when did recalls make a car disappear? They'll just fix the issue and move on.
I live in a city with a lot of Tesla's and I walk and cycle a lot. I have come close to being hit by Tesla's numerous times. As far as I'm concerned, they are dangerous cars with dangerous drivers.
@@logitech4873 Tesla's fix isn't exactly revolutionary or any safer so it's likely to just happen again.
What about Volvo vehicles?
1:48 lmao
Молодцы! Удачи!
If they can’t perform then they need to be recalled. That’s a lawsuit waiting to happen for the vehicles that failed.
I agree, it's a false sense of safety
AEB is the last ditch effort to prevent a crash. It's not perfect in any new car and it isnt meant to be relied on. No recall is necessary.
This crossover craze is ridiculous. I can’t believe people have bought into this lie for a money grab.
Subaru eyesight safety technology is the best 👍
Human eyesight and paying freak'n attention is the best.
Stop buying SUVs if you don’t actually need one.
All of these cars are hardly suvs
Kinda difficult with automakers killing off sedans... and most hatchbacks being less practical in spite of being a hatchback thanks to roof lines and overall size. Loved my Forester Wilderness, then I got a dog and needed the extra length for cargo to go on longer trips with my work gear and him in a crate in the back seat. Now that I can work with 'less', and am married with a larger vehicle in the house I can go back to my right sized Forester when my Outback lease is up. The issue here is nothing to do with being SUVs, and everything to do with the tuning and functionality of the safety systems within.
@@maxd4968 They're still compact SUVs, and hence, unnecessarily large.
@@ryanslemmer5905 The rapid increase of pedestrian fatalities cant be explained by safety systems.
@@chewthegum It's certainly not explained by people walking (and driving) with their eyes glued to their phones, and headphones in their ears, on full blast listening whatever. and minds anywhere but on the task at hand Or people speeding... red light runners.. jaywalkers.. inattentive parents with their faces glued to their phones instead of their kids. It's TOTALLY the fault of the size of the vehicles on the road. The problem is majority human incompetence or inability to focus at the simplest of tasks. Yes some issues are due to vehicle size... but how much of it would have been avoided if people just paid attention to where they were walking, looked before entering the roads, or paid attention behind the wheel. FTR, yes cars are getting too big/heavy... but the numbers on the road aren't gonna go down with manufacturers ending sedan and hatchbacks due to lack of sales. Subaru for example sold 26k Legacys in 2023, versus 160k Outbacks/Crosstrecks, 153k Foresters. And that's just from one small manufacturer. Toyota sold 10x the number of Camrys to Legacys but also sold 3x the number of vehicles overall and still only 11% of their total sales.
All this technology makes automobiles more expensive to purchase, maintain and insure. Recently produced vehicles that provide acceptable occupant protection are now being labeled as “unsafe” because they aren’t festooned with sensors, cameras and screens.
Absurd to give Mustang a good rating when it's unsafe to rear seat occupants... because it has nanny naggers.
absolutely ridiculous that we need this kind of stuff. put your phones down people
Don't wonder me vw Taos is made in Brazil or India and have a bad reputation manufacturing cars
But why aren't drivers paying attention while driving something that weighs over 3000lbs?!
Because to them social media is more important than driving.
Disappointed in VW.
Mazda fanboys are quiet.
Get off your phones... Simple solution.
I still think holding cars accountable for higher standards in 2024 is bull when they passed them fine in 2023. Does that mean they're good or are they bad? Why not retroactively update the 2023 ratings if they're identical to 2024 models? You end up making cars you used to praise look bad despite having no changes other than the rules.
That’s ridiculous - this is to advise buyers of a cars safety. If a 2023 model is worse than a 2024 model than that’s what matters. So it means in relation they are bad. What year model is irrelevant.
Crash testing is meant to seperate the good from the bad. Without changing standards and with steadily improving technology, eventually the standards become too relaxed and every car aces every test. A test that does not demonstrate the differences between models is a useless test.
You have caught on to their grift.
If they never made the test harder everything would be five star ratings going back for decades
Cars reached a level of excellent reliability and durability by the mid '90s. Ever since then, carmakers paid politicians to keep requiring more "features." Did you know that the car shortage a couple years ago was due to a shortage of older-tech microchips that weren't available anywhere but a couple factories in China?
Subaru Forester (the one with the “good” rating”) borders on dangerous with its cacophony of beeping and bonging at every perfectly safe pass and merge. I don’t even pay attention anymore: It will scream at me for looking down to change the fan speed or for not seat-belting my computer bag in the backseat, and don’t get me started on the unusable radar cruise control that leaves 100 ft of space at all costs, throwing on full brakes every time someone merges into this chasm so that people behind you honk and rage bc they think you’re brake-checking them. I hate this car!
I have been looking into Subaru, and I am pretty sure you can adjust distance on the cruise control. Maybe see if it adjusts for your model.
@@blissfuljoy6049 I have 4 distances options on my center gauge display ranging from too far to wayyy too far and won’t let the car go over 50 except on empty roads at night. I’m extra critical bc my 2018 legacy worked great and was clearly designed by engineers in Japan and not American lawyers.
@@holicanoli123 Is it really touchy when not on cruise control?
2000 Forester was a nice car, though it slowed badly on a steep hill / wouldn't downshift, and overheated when continuously driven over 75. My Camry of the same era had almost exactly the same weight and power and didn't have those problems. Also darned expensive repair of head cover gaskets leak that Subaru and authorized repair pretended wasn't a known issue that plagued owners of the EJ25 engine. Very weak CV boots that needed replacement too. All in all, the real-time AWD saved my life, and the car lasted more miles than I ever got from any other, so the problems were worth it.
@@blissfuljoy6049 Maybe they updated it? I got the 2020 subaru. It's a dream machine, so they probably fixed the eyesight for subaru
: )
Why are motorcycles still legal in 2024?
If you don't have the right to ban your neighbor's motorcycle all by yourself that means politicians don't either because you can't delegate away any rights to anyone else unless you already possess that right to begin with.
@@Prepare2Survive Having a motorcycle is a right?
Why are 8000 lb. trucks/SUVs with huge blind spots and terrible gas mileage still legal in 2024?
@rustyshackle917 Great question. They remain legal because they are used to provide absolutely critical services to society. Their elevated risk to other motorists is acceptable to members of society because their value is so incredibly high.
@@zunedog31 Your neighbor has the right to own property. You can try to convince them that some property like a motorcycle isn't as safe as a car, but you most certainly can't use force on them and take away their right to own that property because you arbitrarily decided it's not safe. We can't decide what rights everyone has based on what an idiot or crazy person might do with that right because the possibilities are endless to what an idiot can hypothetically do.