The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is introducing a new, tougher side crash test to address higher-speed crashes that continue to cause fatalities. In the first tests of 2020-21 vehicles, only one out of 20 small SUVs, the 2021 Mazda CX-5, earns a good rating.
“Safety is a top priority at Mazda, and we have long researched how to protect occupants in side impacts,” said Masaki Ueno, MNAO vice president of R&D, design, and quality assurance. “We have studied real-world crashes and used computer simulation to consider body structure and load paths, resulting in the robust design that has existed in the CX-5 since the 2017 model year.”
“We developed this new test because we suspected there was room for more progress, and these results confirm that,” IIHS President David Harkey says. “The good rating for the CX-5 shows that robust protection in a more severe side crash is achievable.”
All 20 small SUVs earn good ratings in the first-generation side test. That’s true for almost all current vehicles, but it hasn’t always been the case. When the original side test was introduced in 2003, only about 1 in 5 models earned a good rating.
That progress has saved lives. A 2011 study of 10 years’ worth of crash data found that a driver of a vehicle with a good side rating is 70 per cent less likely to die in a left-side crash than a driver of a vehicle with a poor rating. However, side impacts still accounted for 23 per cent of passenger vehicle occupant deaths in 2019.
To address those crashes, the updated side test uses a heavier barrier traveling at a higher speed to simulate the striking vehicle. The new barrier weighs 4,180 pounds — close to the weight of today’s midsize SUVs — and strikes the test vehicle at 37 mph, compared with a 3,300-pound barrier traveling at 31 mph in the original evaluation. Together, those two changes mean it involves 82 per cent more energy.
The honeycomb striking surface of the new barrier also has a different design that acts more like a real SUV or pickup when it hits another vehicle.
Like the original test, the updated side rating is based on how well the occupant compartment structure holds its shape during the crash, injury measures collected from dummies positioned in the driver seat and the rear seat behind the driver, and a supplemental measure of how well the airbags protect the heads of the two dummies.
The SID-IIs dummy used in both seating positions represents a small woman or 12-year-old child.
The new test reveals wide discrepancies in the degree of protection these small SUVs provide for the pelvis and the chest. Only five vehicles earn good or acceptable scores across the board for these injury measures.
2021 Mazda CX-5 Crashworthiness Rating by the IIHS:
Small overlap front: driver side – GOOD
Small overlap front: passenger side – GOOD
Moderate overlap front – GOOD
Side: original test – GOOD
Side: updated test – GOOD
Roof strength – GOOD
Head restraints & seats – GOOD
Mazda is proud to add this top achievement to our list of accolades from IIHS, including all-tested Mazda vehicles earning the IIHS 2021 TOP SAFETY PICK+, the highest award in safety. These vehicles include the Mazda3 Sedan Hatchback, Mazda6, CX-3, CX-30 (built after September 2020), CX-5 and CX-9.
you’re interested in test driving a 2022 Mazda CX-5, please click the button below. Depending on current conditions, traditional test drives may not be available so we’ll contact you to discuss what is possible. Thank you in advance for your understanding and patience.
Please Note: The details of this article were accurate at the time it was written. Manufacturers may change the details of any vehicle’s specifications, at any time, without notice.
