The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety or IIHS has been holding automakers accountable for public safety since the ’90s, by putting new cars through more stringent and realistic crash tests than required by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or NHTSA. Thanks in part to the work of the IIHS, new cars are safer than ever, but the IIHS’ focus has recently shifted to the back seat where occupant safety has stagnated.
The latest group of cars to be crashed by the IIHS in its newest moderate front overlap test is midsize luxury SUVs, the chariot of choice for many families in the U.S., and a class often seen by consumers as very safe vehicles. The IIHS’ new moderate overlap test includes a focus on the safety provided to rear-seat passengers, where many of these models faltered. The IIHS reports:
IIHS launched the updated moderate overlap front test last year after research showed that in newer vehicles the risk of a fatal injury is now higher for belted occupants in the second row than for those in front. This is not because the second row has become less safe. Rather, the front seat has become safer because of improved airbags and advanced seat belts that are rarely available in back. Even with these developments, the back seat remains the safest place for children, who can be injured by an inflating front airbag, and the rating does not apply to children secured properly in child safety seats
Now to the nitty gritty– the eight midsize luxury SUVs in this round of crash testing listed from highest performing to lowest performing are the 2023-24 Lincoln Aviator, 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLE, 2023-24 Volvo XC60, 2023-24 Acura MDX, 2023-24 BMW X3, 2023-24 Audi Q5, 2023-24 Lexus RX, and 2023-24 Cadillac XT6.
Families tend to shop for SUVs as they’re perceived to be safer than other vehicles, and while physics still dictate that heavier vehicles fare better in crashes with lighter vehicles, these family haulers are not all created equal.
The biggest area that many of these SUVs struggled was in safely cradling a smaller-framed individual in the back seat. All of the vehicles that did not score a Good rating– Acura MDX, BMW X3, Audi Q5, Lexus RX, and Cadillac XT6– exhibited dangerous submarining of the back-seat occupant.
Submarining occurs when a vehicles lap belt slides up onto the abdomen during a crash, and the occupant slides down slightly, causing the lap belt to exert excessive forces on our soft and tender bellies and organs rather than safely securing our sturdy pelvises. Submarining leads to a higher risk of abdominal injuries, and separately and subjectively looks really really miserable.
These rear-seat ratings are nullified if a child is properly restrained in a child seat, but for the thousands of children who ride in the back seat without a booster, these ratings should be taken into consideration when shopping for a new family car.
The Cadillac XT6 was the worst performer of this group, with rear passengers facing extremely high forces to the chest, head and neck, and exhibited poor control of the passenger’s restraint system. It should be said that all of the vehicles in this test provide exceptional protection for front seat occupants, only the rear-seat occupants were at-risk, which in this vehicle category might just be a dealbreaker.
Research shows that in newer vehicles, the risk of a fatal injury is now higher for belted occupants in the second row than for those in front, so to anyone planning to regularly carry folks in the back seat, check out the IIHS website here to research the safest vehicle for your needs.