Luxury car insurance safety results aren’t great

Auto insurance crash tests results

vehicle crash test results for luxury cars 2012

These vehicles performed quite poorly in recent crash tests.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has released the results of its new frontal crash test, and what it has shown is not promising for luxury car insurance policyholders, as those vehicles performed quite poorly.

Even the Mercedes Benz C-Class was among the midsize vehicles that didn’t do well.

The new luxury car insurance crash safety test is designed to help to duplicate the outcome when a vehicle hits either another car or a fixed object such as a telephone pole or a tree. The test involves a strike to 25 percent of the front end of the vehicle against a five foot solid barrier at a velocity of 40 miles per hour.

Though the tests were performed for luxury car insurance, standard models will be next.

The results on the initial performances tested for luxury car insurance don’t bode well for those in the non-luxury models. This is because the test results are monitored very closely by the coverage industry and will frequently bring about changes in safety features and design in future models of the vehicles. Moreover, high scores are often included in advertisements for the current models.

Among the 11 different vehicles tested, the Acura TL, the Infiniti G, and the Volvo S60 were among those with the most positive or acceptable results from the institutes tests, which were funded by luxury car insurance companies. On the other hand, marginal ratings were received BMW 3 Series, Acura TSX, Volkswagen CC, and Lincoln MKZ. Among the vehicles that received poor safety ratings on this test were Lexus IS 250, Lexus ES 350, Mercedes C-Class, and Audi A4. All of the tested vehicles were from the 2012 model lines.

When a luxury car insurance crash test performance earns a poor or marginal rating, it suggests that the occupants of the vehicle may not be very well protected in a similar crash that occurs in the real world.

The institute explained that this new type of test shows that side airbags may not provide adequate extension or may not deploy in time to protect occupants in off-center frontal crashes. They were designed with T-bone crashes or direct impacts in mind. In order to reduce the risk of increases in luxury car insurance premiums, it is likely that these results will be applied to changes made in models for future years.

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