ydooby

...and Honda Accord the top dog.

Following the IS and ES's failing of the first batch of small overlap test, this is yet another disastrous PR for Toyota, whose redesigned Camry and Prius v were released right before the debut of the new small overlap test.

IIHS Press Release:
http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr122012.html

Full crash test ratings of midsize moderately priced cars:
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/summary.aspx?class=30

Video (which does show exactly how the Camry and the Prius v failed):

Accord:

Camry:


Prius v:

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

My insurance cost went down $65 a year with my '13 GS vs my '12 ES which I found odd but this may be why.I know the last generation ES failed too.

spwolf

Toyota already said that it was too late in development to engineer for this test... same goes for new Avalon and ES.

I think new Corolla might do good, as i saw they were talking about something similar in PR videos

Marklouis

Ouch! that head to dash impact will require many stitches.

pbm317

It should be noted that the Small Overlap test is still being refined. From what I have read, the test has some flaws, mainly in terms of procedures and repeatability. That said, we are still in the phase in of this official test and yes, it's good to challenge automakers on new metrics to make vehicles safer.

Camry and Prius V are still rated as "Top Safety Picks" by the IIHS (along with 17 additional Toyota/Lexus/Scion models), just not the newly designated Top Safety Pick Plus. In a few years, once automakers fully have time to understand this new small overlap test, it will be fully integrated into the Top Safety Pick designation, and the "plus" will be dropped.

doublehh03

The Accord just separates itself more and more. This is easily the best car in its segment.

LexFather

Easily? lol...no

ydooby

It's hard not to be impressed by the Honda Accord though. When NHTSA revised their test in 2010, the then-several-year-old Honda Accord was the only car to get a perfect score across all categories off the bat. Then when IIHS announced the first batch of cars in the new small overlap test in August, the several-year-old Acura TL (basically an Accord too) and the newer Volvo S60 were the only two cars to receive a Good rating. And now the 2013 Accord sits atop the same test pretty, despite this test being announced just one month before the 2013 Accord went on sale in September.

It's hard not to be left with the impression that while Toyota engineers their cars for safety tests, Honda engineers their cars for safety, period.

spwolf

In Euroncap, Toyota Yaris and Avensis got a bit better scores than Fit and Accord... so they did in 2003 Accord vs Avensis. So i dont think it is that simple.

ydooby

Toyota does do very well and often better the others in tests that are already known to them. But my point here is that, when test standards get revised without prior knowledge from the manufacturers, it is then that their true colors show.

I'm sure Toyota will respond with a near-perfect score again (just like how the 2012 Camry got 5 stars in the revised NHTSA test) in the next refresh of theirs cars, but this impression will have a definite lasting impact on their image and quite possibly their sales IMHO.

spwolf

i dont think that makes a lot of sense... difference in these tests is being hit few inches to the side.

I8ABMR

They talked about this this morning on CNN. The crash video was bad. The drivers door crumpled . I am surprised that Toyota didnt catch this. The Camry is their bread and butter model. Strange

ydooby

I'm not sure why it's hard to see my point. Toyota engineers their cars to do good enough in the existing tests, while Honda over-engineers their cars in anticipation of scenarios not covered by the current tests. The 2012 Camry gets a Good rating in the moderate overlap test, and yet when the point of impact moves to the side by a few inches, it falls apart, the Prius v even more so.

It's like in an exam where the teacher tells the students exactly what the questions will be in the test paper beforehand, some students will do well by memorizing the answer to each of the very questions, while some will do well by actually studying and understanding the course material, and then when the teacher surprises everyone by changing some of the questions in the test, the latter will continue to do well while the former will likely fail the test.

spwolf

you are basing this over one test... as I said in Europe, Toyota has been better in tests. So hows Honda "over-engineering" their cars if Toyota gets better results? You think Honda performs worse on current tests so they can do better on future ones or something silly as that?

ydooby

I'm basing this over 3 tests like I mentioned above. Thing is that while Toyota betters Honda in tests that are already known, Honda is never far behind, certainly not to the point of "failing" the tests. Toyota's results are simply a lot more drastically inconsistent between tests that are known and tests that aren't expected.