Honda Odyssey, Safest Minivan for 2011

As a testimony to the way in which Honda's new Odyssey minivan has been designed, two of America's most renowned safety organizations, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the National

Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have both given the model their highest scores in the crash test conducted this year. The achievement, in the case of other models not surprising, comes to establish the Odyssey as the first and single minivan to have achieved top scores from both organizations this year.

Both of the organizations crash tested the Odyssey in the beginning of the year, but only now the Japanese car maker can safely say that their vehicle is the best in its class as far as the safety of the occupants go. The new Odyssey, launched last year, is Honda's take on a segment that, because of the competition, is growing harder and harder to control. Several important players fight for a piece of the market that stands for a whole lot more in the US than in Europe.

Honda's Odyssey, seen by the manufacturer who produces it as one of the most successful minivans it has ever made, is trying to build on the all-American appeal by being designed and engineered in the US and assembled at the Honda Manufacturing of Alabama (HMA) plant, using mostly domestic parts.

For the new model year, Honda has tweaked the model a bit, adding little extras like a more powerful 3.5l i-VTEC V6 engine (248 hp), a new 3-mode second-row seat design or a rear entertainment system with a 16.2-inch ultrawide split-screen display.

Source;
http://www.autoevolution.com/news/honda-odyssey-safest-minivan-for-2011-33127.html

IIHS awards Top Safety Pick to 2011 Honda Odyssey, GM Lambda CUVs

Honda minivan and 3 large GM SUV models earn 2011 Top Safety Pick award
After earning the top rating of good for roof strength, the Honda Odyssey minivan, and 3 large GM SUVs (GMC Acadia, Chevrolet Traverse, and Buick Enclave) become the latest 2011 Top Safety Pick winners. The Odyssey is the second minivan to earn Top Safety Pick since the Institute tightened the criteria to include good performance for roof strength in rollover crashes (the other is the Toyota Sienna). These vehicles earlier earned good ratings for front, side, and rear crash protection.

In the latest tests, the roof of the Odyssey withstood a force more than 5 times the minivan's weight. The Acadia's roof withstood a force equal to 4 times weight. By comparison, the current federal standard is 1.5 times weight. Top Safety Pick only applies to Acadia, Traverse, and Enclave models manufactured after January 2011, because GM made running changes to improve roof strength for these models.

In addition to good crash test ratings in all 4 Institute tests, award winners must have electronic stability control (ESC), an important crash-avoidance feature.

Source;
http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/12/iihs-awards-top-safety-pick-to-2011-honda-odyssey-gm-lambda-cuv/#continued

IIHS adds new rating for roof strength

Above are some pic's I picked up from Autoblog.com on the same test, the last one is of the poor Kia. Yikes!

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) created a roof strength rating system to help customers assess a vehicle's safeness. Roof strength is critical to keeping passengers alive and in the car in the event of a rollover accident, according to a press release issued by the IIHS. The stronger the roof, the less likely it will deform.

More than 10,000 people die in rollover-related accidents. While any vehicle can roll in a crash, SUVs are three times as likely to roll in an accident than a passenger car.
To earn a good rating, the vehicle must have a roof that is more than twice as strong as minimum federal safety standards requirement.

IIHS evaluated 12 2008-2009 SUV models, and found that the Volkswagen Tiguan, Subaru Forester, Honda Element, and Jeep Patriot earn good ratings--the institute's highest rating. Earning an "acceptable" rating were the Suzuki Grand Vitara, Chevrolet Equinox, Toyota RAV4, Nissan Rogue, and Mitsubishi Outlander. However, the Honda CR-V and Ford Escape--two of the most popular crossover SUV--roofs rated "marginal," and the Kia Sportage earned a "poor" rating.

Source;

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-10203701-48.html