Wondering about 2010 Prius govt crash tests?

Are you wondering when the Federal NHTSA 2010 Prius crash tests are going to be announced? In June, Jasony79 asked them and received the following response:


"The 2010 Toyota Prius will be tested sometime in July, but we do not have a definite test date at this moment. The ratings will be available and posted on the website as soon as the vehicle is crash tested."


Yesterday, I asked them again, and promptly received the following response:

"The crash test ratings should be available and posted on the website sometime during the month of August or the beginning of September.

Thank you for your continued interest in our program.
NCAP
www.safercar.gov
1-888-DASH-2-DOT"


My purpose is to update, not complain - I'm sure they are very busy and schedules can slip. How much would it mean to your future purchase or present comfort level if the 2010 Prius gets 5 STARS?? 4 STARS?? WORSE??

I thought that the test was done and the 2010 Prius did good.

Kia Soul, Toyota Prius and Honda Insight earn IIHS Top Safety Pick awards — Autoblog

Two different sets of tests by two different entities. One done and released, one not yet.

The Prius was tested by the NHTSA last week. Toyota already has the results. They are usually released to the public 2-3 weeks later, assuming there are no issues with the data. More discussion here-

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/67151-iihs-top-safety-pick-award.html

Glad to hear it - that jives with what they told me: the results would be out by early September or sooner.

What about my other question? Since the NHTSA results are the official ones that go on the window sticker of a new car:

How much does 5 stars vs. 4 stars vs. lower matter to owners ???
.

Sorry I missed that. Both the IIHS and NHTSA have correlated their frontal crash tests to real world risk of serious injury. There is a link in the other thread to how the star ratings indicate this. I am not aware that this has been done for side impact tests, so you pretty much rely on the assumptions that certain degrees of intrusion and dummy kinematics translate to better ratings and reduced injury.

Personally, while I'd rather have 5-stars or a "Good" rating, a 4-star or "Acceptable" rating thrown in isn't a big deal to me. When I start seeing 3-star and "Marginal" ratings or multiple ratings below 5-stars/Good is when I am concerned about the vehicle's design. These companies all test in-house to excel in these tests and if they get low ratings, my feeling is that they really cut corners and simply didn't care what consumers would think.

Understandably, there is a lot of confusion about who does automobile crash tests and where. Maybe this list will provide clarification.

1. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
http://www.safercar.gov

2. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS):
http://www.hwysafety.org/ratings/default.aspx

3. European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP):
http://www.euroncap.com

4. Australian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP):
http://www.ancap.com.au/

5. New Car Assessment Japan (NASVA):
http://www.nasva.go.jp/english

1. is the official US rating agency (results listed on new car window sticker);

2. rates cars for US insurance rate determinations; and

3.-5. are international crash-testing agencies.

Hope this helps a wee bit...

- g

The frontal crash ratings were released today. 4-star ratings for both driver and passenger. A bit of a disappointment, considering most cars get 5-star ratings these days. Still respectable, though.

Looking at the sub category results, the head injury numbers look pretty good for both sides. The chest and leg numbers are somewhat high compared to 5-star rated vehicles and combined were apparently enough to cause the Prius to miss a 5-star rating. Overall, I'd say pretty similar to the 2nd generation frontal results, with some results better and some a bit worse. Not bad overall, but Toyota could and should have done better.

That is a dissapointment. I was hoping to pass this car along to the oldest when he started driving. Most likely will not happen now.

Maybe I should have went with the Fusion Hybrid afterall.

The Fusion, Camry and Altima hybrids are all excellent choices for crash protection. They are all a little heavier and that can help in frontal crashes, too.

The Civic, Prius and Insight are all quite respectable as well, but sacrifice a little in weight and a 4-star rating here and there.

In 5 years when my oldest is driving, a used Honda fit is looking like a reasonably safe choice that won't break the bank and won't cost a lot to maintain, either.

The results have been removed from the safercar.gov website...

What??? Results were up for a while then taken down! Weird! What's going on?

Not to stir the pot but the Insight is 5 star front driver! What will those pesky Insight folks say now. LOL! I'm just glad we are all driving hybrids!

Assuming the results posted earlier were the right ones, they'll probably say that the knee airbag didn't prove to be an advantage vs. the Insight. The rest of the frontal crash results really were not all that much different, if I recall correctly.

No idea why the results were removed. Only time will tell, I guess.

All because of 1 little star in one test? I can understand wanting safety, but sometimes it can be taken to the extreme. The Prius received a 5-star Euro NCAP score and it's a top safety pick according to IIHS. It's safe. I wouldn't let a missing star in one test define my attitude toward the car. Beisdes, of all 3 test, NHSTA is probably the least important.

The IIHS frontal test is similar to the Euro test, in that both are offset crashes. So, you could expect an identical car to perform similarly. Of course, there's also no guarantee that a Euro-spec Prius is identical to a North America spec Prius in terms of crash protection.

The NHTSA frontal test is a nice complement to the IIHS test. As it is a full width frontal test, it varies enough from an offset test to provide some useful information. As such, it tends to be a little more severe on the occupant restraint systems, whereas an offset test tends to be a little more severe on the vehicle structure. I have been told that doing well on both tests is a lot more difficult than only having to design to one or the other.

While I agree that a 4-star rating isn't a real safety concern, I also think that new vehicles should be able to ace the NHTSA NCAP testing, as it has been a design standard for a long, long time.

Not sure how to respond- but safety is a concern with young drivers. I didn't say I was going to sell the Prius. Just said that I would definitely reconsider it being the car for my children to learn driving. Don't really think that is going overboard- just want to give an honest opinion. I am sure that I am not the only one.

Not sure how you can break down the star ratings to percentages- but IF a 4 star vehicle would lead to an injury 20% more often than a 5 star vehicle, then it would definitely change my attitude.

As stated earlier, I am disappointed. I would think that everyone would be- we all want our families safety to be a priority.

Of course it is i mportant to note that the rating is not a 1, 2, or 3 star- which would lead me to rethink ownership.

I agree.

I expect my next car to be the one my daughter learns to drive so I want it to be as safe as can be. Even if there is only a 1% chance that she would be more injured in a 4-star car than in a 5-star car, that is too big of a risk for me. If I did buy the Prius and she were injured, I would always wonder if she would have done better in the 5-star car I passed up for a few more mpg.

As my car is still "on order," it is easy for me to walk away. If the 4-star rating is correct I will certainly reconsider my options. I hope the report is incorrect though because I have been looking forward to the Prius.

But to me, this brings up the question of why buy any car that's rather small (i.e. 3100lbs or less). It seems like a Avalon or Taurus would be inherently safer given their 5 star ratings and 600+ lbs of additional mass.