Autos: Safest cars in a crash

The safest cars in a crash
By Pat Curry • Bankrate.com

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gave these vehicles a "Good" rating in its crash tests. As a point of comparison, we've included in this list the vehicles that did poorly in the testing. If you're considering a different vehicle, you can check to see if it's been tested and how it scored at the IIHS site.

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Best and worst picks for crash-worthiness
	Best	Worst
Large luxury cars	1997-2003 BMW 5 Series 1997-2003 Buick Park Ave 2000-2003 Cadillac Seville 2003 Infinity Q45 1999-2003 Lexus GS 2001-2003 Lexus LS 430 2000-2003 Lincoln LS
Midsize luxury cars	2000-2003 BMW 3 Series 2002-2003 Jaguar X Type 2001-2003 Mercedes C Class 2002-2003 Lexus ES 300 2002-2003 Lexus IS 300 2002 Saab 9-5 2001-2003 Volvo S60 2001-2003 Volvo S80
Large family cars	2000-2003 Buick LeSabre 2000-2003 Pontiac Bonneville 2001-2003 Oldsmobile Aurora 2000-2003 Ford Taurus 2000-2003 Mercury Sable
Midsize moderately priced cars	1999-2003 Acura TL 2002-2003 Audi A4 2000-2003 Toyota Avalon 1998-2003 Volkswagen Passat
Midsize inexpensive cars	2003 Honda Accord 2002-2003 Nissan Altima 2000-2003 Subaru Legacy 2002-2003 Toyota Camry	1995-2003 Chevrolet Cavalier 1999-2003 Oldsmobile Alero 1999-2003 Pontiac Grand AM 1995-2002 Pontiac Sunfire
Small cars	2001-2003 Honda Civic 2002-2003 Mini Cooper 2002-2003 Mitsubishi Lancer 2002-2003 Suzuki Aerio 2002 Subaru Impreza 2003 Toyota Corolla 1998-2003 Volkswagen Beetle 1999-2003 Volkswagen Jetta/Golf 2002-2003 Volvo S40	2001-2003 Hyundai Elantra 1998-2003 Kia Sephia/Spectra
Midsize SUVs	2001-2003 Acura MDX 2001-2003 BMW X5 2002-2003 Ford Explorer 1999-2003 Lexus RX 300 1999-2003 Mercedes M Class 2002-2003 Mercury Mountaineer 2001-2003 Mitsubishi Montero 2001-2003 Suzuki Grand Vitara 2001-2003 Toyota Highlander 2003 Volvo XC90	1995-2003 Chevy Blazer 1995-2001 GMC Jimmy/Envoy 1996-2001 Oldsmobile Bravada
Small SUVs	2002-2003 Honda CRV 2003 Honda Element 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander 2003 Subaro Forester
Large pick-ups	2002-2003 Dodge Ram 1500 2000-2003 Toyota Tundra	1997-2003 Ford F150
Small pickups	1998-2003 Ford Ranger* 1998-2003 Mazda B Series* 1998-2003 Toyota Tacoma* * Average ranking only	1997-2003 Dodge Dakota 1998-2003 Nissan Frontier
Passenger vans	1999-2003 Honda Odyssey 1998-2003 Toyota Sienna	1996-2003 Chevrolet Astro 1997-2003 Chevrolet Venture 1996-2003 GMC Safari 1997-2003 Oldsmobile Silhouette 1997-2003 Pontiac Trans Sport/Montana
Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

-- Updated: June 3, 2003