Safest Cars 2011: Hyundai, VW Top List

WASHINGTON — South Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia and German car maker Volkswagen lead the insurance industry's annual list of the safest new vehicles, used by safety-minded consumers looking to buy a new car.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recognized 66 vehicles on Wednesday with its "top safety pick award" for the 2011 model year, the most-ever awarded by the Virginia-based group. The number was more than double the 27 vehicles selected last year.

Hyundai Motor Corp. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp., and Volkswagen AG and its Audi brand received the most awards with nine, followed by eight awards apiece by General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. The awards, used in advertising to attract car buyers, bolster Hyundai and Volkswagen as they attempt to build a larger foothold in the United States.

Hyundai's Genesis sedan, Sonata midsize and Santa Fe and Tucson sport utility vehicles picked up awards, while Kia was recognized for the Optima midsize car, the Forte and Soul small cars, and the Sorento and Sportage SUVs. Volkswagen won plaudits for the Jetta and Jetta SportWagen, the Golf and GTI small cars and the Touareg and Tiguan SUVs. Audi's A3 and A4 sedans and Q5 SUV also made the list.

Subaru and Chrysler received five awards apiece while Volvo and Mercedes had four. Subaru was the only automaker to win awards in every vehicle category in which it competes. Nissan and Honda had two awards each and Mitsubishi and BMW had one.

Hyundai said the award was particularly sweet for the Sonata, which also received the top score of five stars in the government's crash test program. The combination put Sonata "in a safety position unsurpassed in the industry," said John Krafcik, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America.

Mark Barnes, Volkswagen of America's chief operating officer, said the recognition for VW was a "testament to our commitment to engineering safe vehicles."

GM's winners include the Chevrolet Malibu, Cruze and Equinox; Cadillac CTS and SRX; Buick LaCrosse and Regal and GMC Terrain. Chris Perry, vice president of Chevrolet marketing, said the award would build on "the already strong global safety reputation of the Cruze."

Ford's picks include the Ford Taurus, Fusion, Fiesta, Explorer and Flex; and the Lincoln MKS, MKZ and MKT. Ford vice president Sue Cischke said the Explorer, which arrived at dealer showrooms earlier this month, offered a good example of the company's safety improvements, including inflatable seat belts and technology that helps a driver maintain control of the vehicle along tough curves.

Toyota, which has grappled with several high-profile recalls during the past year, scored with the Toyota Avalon, Corolla, Sienna, Highlander and Venza; the Lexus RX; and the Scion tC and xB. Toyota said its eight safety picks were "reflective of our ongoing commitment to developing safe and reliable vehicles for our customers."

The vehicles were chosen for protection in front, side and rear crash tests. To qualify for the award, the insurance industry group also requires the vehicles to have anti-rollover electronic stability control, or ESC, and receive top scores in roof strength tests.

Institute president Adrian Lund credited automakers for "quickly rising to meet the more-challenging criteria for `Top Safety Pick.'" He said several automakers have requested tests for new models coming out early next year and Lund predicted more winners would be added.

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Online:

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety: http://www.iihs.org

Comments

[Charles Elk]

04:17 AM on 12/24/2010

I'll stick with my Ford Excursion. That thing is a squirrel squashing deer smacking machine.

[mcgr45]

05:47 PM on 12/23/2010

I wanted to clarify for folks posting comments to this site about who the "Insurance Institute for Highway Safety" is and does. It is NOT an insurance agency, no one BUYS or CONTRIBUTES money to be on their list. IIHS " is an independent, nonprofit, scientific, and educational organization dedicated to reducing the losses — deaths, injuries, and property damage — from crashes on the nation's highways." That is the USA highways, NOT European highways. The Work conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Highway Loss Data Institute is wholly supported by auto insurers. So it is an association. If you go to their website it lists ALL Auto Insurance Providers in the USA as members. Website: http://www.iihs.org/

Regarding Hyundai, JD Powers gave all of the 2010 4 and 5 stars in reliability, and I am willing to bet you will see mostly a 5 star rating for Hyundai Reliability for 2011. I do not work for Hyundai, but I am buying a Santa Fe Limited V6. I also own a 2000 V6 Honda Accord, that has about 130,000 miles on it, and I did have to replace its transmission about a year ago. That model year had some transmission issues. I have bought 2 Honda Accords, a 1989 Honda Accord V4 and then the 2000 Accord V6. I am banking on the fact that Hyundai will be as reliable as Honda and Toyota.

[oilfield]

11:15 AM on 12/23/2010

safest car of all time 1978-1979 lincoln town car.....

[Hopalongpoppyseed]

10:28 AM on 12/23/2010

The headline says there is a list here, so where is the danged list? I'm an American. I'm in a hurry. You read the article and tell me later what's on the list. Bye bye.

[Pucker]

10:20 AM on 12/23/2010

What these crash tests don't take into account is the mass of the vehicle, which is a major factor, especially in multi-vehicle accidents.

And, I do recognize that the majority of fatal accidents are single car affairs -- driving off the road and hitting a pole/tree/etc...situations where there is a distinct mass disadvantage.

[TxEarlyBird]

10:06 AM on 12/23/2010

Personally, I'll stick with my MKS ... best car I've had in years.

[Quasi-Stellar Object]

09:42 AM on 12/23/2010

How bout a report on the cars and suvs that handle best in snow?

[Quasi-Stellar Object]

09:40 AM on 12/23/2010

The Sonata and the Passat are "pretty"...but until they perform with the reliability of a Honda Accord I am completely un-interested.

[mcgr45]

06:06 PM on 12/23/2010

As I mentioned above, I had owned a 1989 Honda Accord, and then replaced it with a 2000 Honda Accord V6, we basically drive cars until they are pretty much "Fred Flinstone" looking,which equates to about every 11 years or so, and then we look into buying a new car. I looked at JD Powers and Associates, and Hyundai got mostly 4's and some 5's on Reliability. They have not done the 2011 Hyundai's. I have to say, this did concern me, until I had to replace the transmission on my Accord, which I was told had problems (that I was NOT made aware of) on the 2000 model year. My Accord is still a great car, but with the warranty being the best in America and price being less with more features, I opted for the Hyundai. Only time will tell, but I am confident that in regards to Safety and Reliability, it will be as good as Honda and Toyota (not that Toyota is having that great of a year with recalls.)

[Quasi-Stellar Object]

10:03 AM on 12/30/2010

Thanks for the input. The Hyundai Sonata looks amazing. I'd be interested to know how it turns out.

[MIKEinNYC]

07:08 AM on 12/23/2010

If they had counted the Mercury Milan, from Ford's recently discontinued division which did put out 2011 models, Ford would have led the pack.

[Gentleman Agitator]

07:36 AM on 12/23/2010

Dumping Mercury was a huge mistake.They were the only Ford products I liked. Not that Ford did much to help it in the last twenty years.

[MIKEinNYC]

07:53 AM on 12/23/2010

I think that you're 100% right. When I went car shopping with the missus and we went into Chevy and Ford dealerships she indicated, not in so many words, that she would not want to put her golden a** into such lowly nameplates. When we went into the Lincoln-Mercury dealership, she had no problem with the the Mercury's which were almost identical with the Fords that we looked at. It worked for me. The fact is, the Mercury was less money because it came more fully equipped whereas with the Ford, to equip it the same way, we were presented with an a-la-carte list of option that ultimately would have cost more.

A new sleek, elegant Sable based on the Taurus, which is good a good car but masculine looking, like they did in 1986, would have been nice alternative. A Cougar based upon a slightly stretched Mustang, like in 1967, would also have been great.

[TechieFreak]

06:30 AM on 12/23/2010

I can cruise legally at 120mph+ here in Germany. Have an Audi A6 TDI 2.5 liter with 6 speed that gets 40mpg at those speeds.

Love TurboDiesels.

Oh, and BTW, its TORQUE you want not HORSEPOWER. I can drive at 100mph up long steep grades on the autobahn without downshifting. Only 140 Horsepower but GOBS of torque.

[Mencken Today]

07:15 AM on 12/23/2010

Sadly in this country people do not know how to use manual transmissions. A5 and A6 are not available in manual. My daughter-in-law had to look for a longtime before finding last year's last A5 manual.

It is a great car with one exception -- the backseat room. Something that is even a bit of a concern in the A6 series. It may force me, well not too much of a force, to move to the A8 but not the A8L

In 1972 I purchased an Audi 100LS, 4 cylinder and 4 speed. What a great car! With the exception of a Corvair possibly the best car I ever owned for driving in the snow and I could even start-off in third.

I am looking very closely at purchasing another Audi...

[MajorKong]

08:27 AM on 12/23/2010

I had a 2000 A6 2.7T with a manual. I had to search far and wide to find a manual A6 because maybe 1 out of 20 in the US had one.

I'm currently driving a 2004 A8L (petrol because that's all they imported to the States) and I really like it. I didn't really want the "L" but that's what was available in my price range.

[Rafalsays]

10:20 AM on 12/23/2010

Agreed with turbo diesels being really amazing and that in the states we are spoonfed horsepower when in reality its the torque that gets you moving.

However Audis in the states IMO are not that reliable in the past, do not know about the newer models. I had a 03 a4 that needed new axles at 25,000 miles and new water pump at 35,000 miles.

[jaschrod]

05:47 AM on 12/23/2010

I believe nothing the insurance companies, or any other corporation says. They say whatever they think will make them the most money. It is a sad situation when one cannot believe anything that is said by corporations, or government anymore.

[jsarets]

04:18 AM on 12/23/2010

Most modern cars are exceptionally safe. The problem is the drivers.

Electronic anti-lock braking and stability/traction control have made a significant improvement, but the roads will remain distressing dangerous as long as it is left up to non-professional drivers to obey the rules of the road and to stay continuously alert to traffic, pedestrians, and road conditions.

We pay for increased crash safety not only in the sticker price but also in fuel economy and to a certain extent also in stopping distance and evasive agility. Heavier chassis require more powerful engines and bigger brakes and wider tires etc. in a spiral of increasing weight and decreasing performance.

All of this mostly because too many people don't take driving seriously enough.

[Quasi-Stellar Object]

09:42 AM on 12/23/2010

Agreed: the problem isn't the cars it's the drivers.

Just like there are no bad dogs, just bad dog owners.

[Steelsil]

03:25 AM on 12/23/2010

There is a very strong bias in this metric - some companies only produce 3 or 4 models, like Subaru. Subarus rate at the top in safety.  Saying that a company's products are 'safer' is  misleading as a raw number - it should be a percentage of models offered to be a meaningful statistic.

[KOCT]

04:21 PM on 12/23/2010

Yes, and we might add % of cars sold that reach this top safety level.

[dansup]

02:42 AM on 12/23/2010

Aren't Kia and Hyundai one and the same company?

[DG3]

01:23 AM on 12/23/2010

Hyundai has come so far.

[dansup]

02:37 AM on 12/23/2010

I've got a 2001 santa fe - the only thing I've done is replace the battery and tires, great car

[DG3]

01:13 AM on 12/24/2010

I like the new Hyundai Albuquerque.