IIHS improves the side impact strength. Only two of the 27 test vehicles got the best results.

In recent years, IIHS has improved the intensity of previous crash tests. In the latest side impact test, the obstacle is upgraded from 1.500kg to 1.900kg, and the impact speed is also upgraded from 50km/h to 60 km/h. Together, these two changes mean that the impact energy has increased by 82%. Under this standard test, IIHS conducted updated side impact tests on 20 SUV models and 7 cars respectively, and only 2 of the 27 tested vehicles achieved G (excellent) performance. It is worth mentioning that both models are Japanese models. They are Mazda CX-5(SUV) and Subaru Outback (classified as cars in North America).

First, let's look at the SUV. Of the 20 models tested, only half have achieved good or above performance, and only Mazda CX-5 has achieved excellent results. Volvo, which is famous for its safety in the impression, only achieved the tenth place in the tested XC40. Surprisingly, among the top ten vehicles, Japanese brands occupy six seats, which is the biggest winner.

The upgraded side test not only increases the weight and impact speed of the obstacle, but also adopts a brand-new design for the impact section of the obstacle, which is no longer a simple single rectangular plane, but adds more varied designs to make it more in line with the front shape of the car.

Let's take CX 5, the best performer, as an example. In the process of side impact, the posture of the car body is kept good, and the head air curtain and side airbag bounce off immediately, thus protecting the dummy.

As for the body frame, the B-pillar of CX 5 plays a very good protective role and will not bend, thus ensuring that obstacles cannot invade the car. In addition, the anti-collision beam on the inner side of the door also contributed, and it also resisted most of the impact injuries.

After removing the door, you can see that the B-pillar is still strong and intact, the seat in the car is not squeezed, and the cockpit is also intact.

For the dummy in the car, because the air curtain popped up in time, the dummy's head did not hit the car body, but was wrapped by the air curtain.

Finally, the overall impact assessment of CX-5 shows that only the trunk part of the front dummy is good, and the rest are excellent.

As a contrast, let's look at the collision performance of a group of Honda HR-V which only got the worst rating P. During the collision, we can see that the door collapsed inward seriously and the bottom of the B-pillar was obviously deformed. After cutting the door, we can also see that the seat inside the car body is squeezed to a certain extent, which also leads to the most serious injury of the dummy in the pelvic position, only reaching the M (passing) performance. Finally, it is shown as P (failing) in the overall frame evaluation of the car body.

In contrast, when testing cars, the results are generally worse. Among the seven test vehicles, only Subaru Outback achieved excellent performance, while more than half of the vehicles only achieved M (passing) and P (failing).

IIHS experts said that the overall performance of the car is poor, largely because the chassis of the car is low, and it is more likely to be disturbed when it is hit by obstacles of SUV or pickup truck models. In fact, Subaru Outback can achieve excellent performance, which may also be related to its high ground clearance. You should know that Outback is classified as SUV in China. From this point of view, no car has achieved excellent performance in the new strength side impact test.

Overseas netizens also expressed similar views that Outback should be divided into SUV types; The reason why Outback can achieve excellent performance is because the ground clearance is higher; In order to make vehicles safer, they must become taller.

Written at the end: With the continuous development of the automobile and the continuous upgrading of the body frame, it has become more and more handy in dealing with the traditional crash test. In order to reflect the real collision safety of contemporary vehicles more effectively, IIHS has also carried out collision intensity that is more in line with today's realistic conditions. Although the crash performance is not satisfactory for testing vehicles, this change is bound to make car companies pay more attention to car safety. For our consumers, it is undoubtedly good news. Of course, we also hope that our domestic collision agencies such as C-NCAP and China Insurance Research Institute can update the collision intensity in time to meet the increasingly stringent automobile safety requirements.

This article comes from the second half of the Ninth Automobile Bureau, and is the author of Easy Car Number. The copyright belongs to the author. Please contact the author for any form of reprint. The content only represents the author's point of view and has nothing to do with the car reform.