Crash Test Results

[Bob Ayers]

The government has a new method for testing how well a vehicle resists rolling over.

In the first round of dynamic track testing, no vehicles earned the top rating of five stars.





Several did get four-star ratings, including the Chevrolet Trailblazer 4x4, Chevrolet Silverado extended cab (4x4 and 4x2), Ford Focus wagon, Subaru Outback wagon, Toyota Echo and Volvo XC90 4x4.

A five-star rating means the likelihood of rollover during a single-vehicle crash is less than 10 percent; four-star, between 10 and 20 percent; three-star, between 20 and 30 percent; two-star, between 30 and 40 percent; and one-star, greater than 40 percent.

Other ratings from this round of testing:

Three star: Chevrolet Trailblazer 4x2; Jeep Liberty 4x4 and 4x2; Toyota 4Runner 4x4 and 4x2; Toyota Tacoma extended cab 4x4.

Two star: Ford Explorer Sport Trac 4x2,

Results are pending for the Ford Explorer 4x4 and Explorer Sport Trac 4x2, and the Toyota Tacoma extended cab 4x2.

The dynamic test uses the so-called "fishhook" maneuver -- a series of abrupt turns at varying speeds. A computerized steering system is used in each test vehicle to maintain objectivity.

Past ratings were based on an calculation based on the size of the vehicle and the height of its center of gravity.