Since new cars are so expensive, it's tempting to
drive your old clunker into the ground. But many consumers who do
this are being penny wise and pound foolish says
Brian Moody, road test editor at Edmunds.com.
"If you have a car that is six or eight years
old, you have to realize that the technology has really advanced
and that newer cars are much safer. Car makers are doing a lot,
for example, with improving the front end of cars, which is known
as the crumple zone, so that the car absorbs more of the impact
in a crash. You won't find that in an older car."
Besides snow tires, he says that winter wiper blades
help keep the windshield clear in icy and snowy weather, as do
newer window washer fluids that have de-icing capabilities. But
the best safety feature is one that too many consumers don't use
-- seat belts. If you don't use your seat belt, all the other
safety features in your car won't work as well because you lack
that vital primary restraint.
Safest cars by model
Consumer Reports rates cars for reliability,
and also provides a separate rating for safety that is included
in the overall reliability score. "We're the only ones that
do a safety rating that combines crash protection and accident
avoidance into one score," says Gabe Shenhar, senior auto
test engineer and special publications program manager for Consumers
Union.
In terms of crash protection, Consumer Reports relies
on tests conducted by the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety, which both conduct independent
crash tests and make their data available to consumers. NHTSA
bases its ratings on full-frontal and side-impact collisions.
IIHS conducts offset-front crashes, a common type of front-end
collision, and in 2003 started conducting side-impact collision
testing.
Consumer Reports currently uses all the NHTSA results
and the IIHS offset-front crash tests and may begin to include
the IIHS side-impact collision testing once more results become
available, Shenhar says. Consumer Reports weighs results based
on how important its experts consider each variable.
As far as accident avoidance goes, auto testing
staff members put a car through various road maneuvers designed
to test a car's braking, acceleration, emergency handling, visibility,
driving position and seat comfort. A car's performance in emergency
handling and braking contribute most heavily to the accident avoidance
rating, according to Consumers Union.
The magazine published results for 101 new and redesigned
2005 models in October. More results will be available in the
April 2005 issue. Consumer Reports breaks down its ratings into
the following categories:
Small cars
Five best: Honda Civic EX, Volkswagen
Jetta GLS TDI, Ford Focus ZX4, Mini Cooper and Volkswagen New
Beetle Turbo 5.
Two worst: Hyundai Elantra GLS
and Chevrolet Cavalier LS.
Family sedans
Five best: Mazda 6s and I, Volkswagen
Passant GLX, Nissan Maxima 3.5 SE, Honda Accord EX and Volkswagen
Passant GLS TDI.
Two worst: Kia Optima EX and
Ford Taurus SES/Mercury Sable LS.
Upscale and luxury sedans
Five best: Lexus IS300, Mercedes-Benz
E-Class E320, Acura TL and TSX, Volvo S80 T6 and Mercedes-Benz
C-Class C320.
Two worst: Cadillac CTS and Volvo
S60 2.5T.
Large sedans
Four best: Ford Crown Victoria
LX/Mercury Grand Marquis LSE, Toyota Avalon XLS, Lincoln Town
Car Signature and Buick Park Avenue Ultra.
Two worst: Pontiac Bonneville
SE and Buick LeSabre Limited.
Minivans
Four best: Ford Freestar SEL/Mercury
Monterey, Nissan Quest 3.5 SL, Toyota Sienna LE and Mazda MPV
ES.
Two worst: Kia Sedona EX and
Chrysler Town & Country SXT/Dodge Grand Caravan SXT.
Small SUVs
Four best: Subaru Forester 2.5x,
Honda Element EX, Honda CR-V EX and Saturn Vue.
Three worst: Kia Sorento LX,
Jeep Liberty Sport and Pontiac Aztek.
Mid-sized SUVs
Six best: Infiniti FX35, Lexus
RX330, Chrysler Pacifica, Toyota Highlander Limited, Cadillac
SRX and Nissan Murano 3.5 SE.
Three worst: Ford Explorer XLT
4WD, Buick Rendezvous CL and Chevrolet TrailBlazer SLT/GMC Envoy
SLE.
Full-sized crew cab pickups
Three best: Ford F-150 XLT, Toyota
Tundra SR5 and Dodge Ram 150SLT (5.7 and 4.7).
Worst: Chevrolet Silverado 1500
Z71/GMC Sierra 1500.
-- Posted: Feb. 15, 2005
