Man, what is it about the holidays that brings the crash test results out of the woodwork? Three Mazdas have earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s “Top Safety Pick+” designation.
A press release from Mazda says the CX-5, Mazda6, and Mazda3 received the Top Safety Pick+ rating in IIHS testing recently. The release noted only 22 vehicles earned a Top Safety Pick+ award, with the Mazda brand garnering the second-highest number of safety honors.
Mazda North American Operations President and CEO Jim O’Sullivan said, “A redesign is not simply a matter of changing a vehicle’s sheet metal draping but involves dramatically altering its insides, outsides and everything in between to make that vehicle not only look great but be more efficient, more powerful and, most importantly, safer. With our new fleet of SKYACTIV vehicles, the 2014 Mazda3, Mazda6, and CX-5 were created to be the best in their segments from fuel economy and safety to dynamics and performance, and having earned Top Safety Pick+ distinctions is further proof to their success.”
Earning a Top Safety Pick+ designation this year meant the Mazdas had to score at least “Good” on the Institute’s moderate overlap front, side, roof strength, and head restraint tests and, for the first time, requires “Good” or “Acceptable” performance in the small overlap front test that was introduced in 2012. Sound like the IIHS is setting the bar a bit low on that small overlap test? Go watch some videos of small overlap crash tests. It’s not for the squeamish. Chances are you’ll feel a lot less safe about whatever vehicle you’re driving if, by chance, you can find video of it being put through a small overlap crash test. Even the less-severe moderate overlap crash testing does a number on most vehicles.
While the Mazdas have as much or more equipment designed to keep you alive in a crash as any other Top Safety Pick winner, the release — like most others that discuss crash test results — said there’s just as big a focus on crash prevention as on ways to protect occupants in the event of a crash. To that end, it said the Mazdas in question featured a range of crash-avoidance technologies marketed under the banner of i-ACTIVSENSE, including:
- High beam control that can automatically brighten and dim high beams
- Blind spot monitoring system that alerts the driver to cars or objects in the Mazdas’ blind spots by illuminating a light in the outside rear view mirror and sounding an audible alarm if the turn signal is activated while something is in the blind spot.
- Rear cross-traffic alert system that uses the same sensor as the blind spot monitoring systemto inform the driver of any crossing traffic approaching while the driver is attempting to back out of a parking space or driveway.
- Frontal collision warning that monitors the road ahead and issues both audible and visual alerts to help the driver take evasive action when it determines a high risk of collision to exist when traveling between speeds of 9 and 92 MPH.
- Smart City Brake Support, which uses a laser sensor to detect if an object — car, pedestrian, parking bollard, or what-have-you– is in danger of being struck by the car. If the system calculates there may be a high risk for collision, the brake pedal travel is reduced in order to hasten braking. Should the driver fail to perform an avoidance maneuver, the system will activate an automatic braking function.
- Adaptive front lighting system, which optimizes distribution of light from the headlights in accordance to driving circumstances. Depending on vehicle speed and steering input, the system can turn the low-beam headlights up to 15 degrees into the direction the driver intends to travel.
- Radar-based adaptive cruise control (not available on the CX-5), which helps drivers maintain a safe following distance whenever cruise control is engaged.