DETROIT (Reuters) -- In a front overlap crash safety tests of four minivans sold in the United States, only the latest model of the Toyota Sienna scored well, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said today.
The Dodge Grand Caravan, the Chrysler Town & Country, and the Nissan Quest performed poorly, the IIHS said.
A small front overlap test replicates what happens when the front corner of a vehicle collides with another vehicle or an object such as a tree or a utility pole.
Toyota's 2015 Sienna joins the Honda Odyssey, which was tested earlier, as the only minivans to earn the IIHS "Top Safety Pick-Plus" rating that is used heavily in marketing new vehicles.
"Minivans are popular among parents, a group that tends to be safety conscious, but we’ve only seen two so far that offer decent protection in small overlap crashes," says David Zuby, IIHS executive vice president and chief research officer.
The Nissan Quest from model years 2011 to 2015, Chrysler Group's Dodge Grand Caravan from model years 2008 to 2015 and the Chrysler Town & Country all received scores of "poor" in the tests. The Sienna scored "acceptable" and the Odyssey in its previous test scored "good," according to the IIHS.
Chrysler Group said it continually strives to improve every performance aspect of its vehicles, and that no single test determines overall vehicle safety.
"Chrysler Group minivans meet or exceed all government-mandated safety requirements," the company said in a statement. "They are unchanged, structurally, from previous model-year vehicles that received the highest performance ratings bestowed by the IIHS in tests simulating the four main crash types — side, rollover, rear and moderate-overlap front."
Nissan said in a statement that it is committed to vehicle safety and believes that consumers should have information about crash protection so they can make educated buying decisions.
The automaker pointed out that the Quest still earned a "good" rating.
"Nissan is proud of the 2014 Quest’s “good” rating in the IIHS front moderate overlap and side impact tests as well as a “good” head restraint rating," the company said. "As for the performance of the 2014 Quest in the ‘small overlap frontal test,’ Nissan will continue to review these and other results from IIHS testing as we seek opportunities for improvements."
Sienna models prior to the 2015 model year were not tested by the IIHS, and the influential U.S. insurance industry group said it has yet to test the Kia Sedona, the only minivan sold in the United States not yet tested.
