Overall Ratings - SafeCarGuide.com evaluates all the available data on a specific vehicle and assigns it 1 of 5 possible performance ratings based on data contained in the first 12 categories shown above.  The overall rating is not simply an average of the other scores, because certain categories count more from a safety point of view.

The most significant safety determinant, worth as much as all the others put together, is weight.  It is so important that it would overwhelm all other factors if included in the assessment.  We recommend that you note BOTH of the last 2 squares, Weight and Overall, when you consider the ultimate crashworthiness of a particular model.  

(If a data table square is blank, the data is either unavailable, the vehicle has yet to be tested, or the vehicle will never be tested.)

Overall Ratings Based On Safety

	Excellent Safety - Highly Recommended
	Good Safety - Recommended
	Acceptable But Better Choices Exist - Not Recommended
	Marginal Safety - Unacceptable
	Poor Safety - Unacceptable

Weight Class Categories - Keep in mind that crash test results aren't comparable between vehicles with large weight differences (more than 15%).  That's why we've divided the vehicles into 5 distinct weight categories.

	3500 lbs / 1590 kgs or more
	3000-3499 lbs / 1363-1589 kgs
	2600-2999 lbs / 1181-1362 kgs
	2300-2599 lbs / 1045-1180 kgs
	Less than 2300 lbs / 1045 kgs

Weight Matters - The following chart is from an IIHS News Release dated 2-10-98.  The left-most column gives the weight class of the vehicles in the first column of each pair (that is, " cars," "pick-ups," & "SUVs").  Columns 1, 3, and 5 show the death rates (per million vehicles per year) for cars, pick-ups, and SUVs of different weights; columns 2, 4 and 6 show the death rates for the occupants of the other vehicle in the two-car collision.  

Occupant death rates in two-vehicle crashes, 1990-95 model passenger vehicles versus other vehicles ( deaths per million vehicles per year) Weight Class (lbs) Vehicle crash pairs 1990-1995 Cars  Pick-ups SUVs Cars  Other  Pick-ups  Other  SUVs Other  less than 2500  109 35   105 58 2500-2999  83 43  89  88 54  75 3000-3499  60 48 56  116 53  75 3500-3999 53  57  52  115  37  92 4000-4499 49 58 44  144 29 91 4500-4999     45 169 29 110 5000 +     38 181 25 112 (Of note, occupants of the lightest cars have dramatically higher death rates.  Also, most significantly from a safety point of view, heavy pickups and SUVs are associated with far higher death rates in the other vehicle than in themselves, or than death rates caused by comparably heavy cars. )  (Source IIHS)

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