1/24/08

2008 isn't even a month old, and it's already a banner year for highway safety. Why? Because there are a total of thirty-four vehicles that have earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's 2008 Top Safety Pick award, which recognizes those vehicles which do a better-than-average job of protecting the people inside from front, side, and rear-impact collisions. In this year's crash tests, electronic stability control (ESC) was also a requirement, since research shows this feature significantly reduces the risk of a crash.

By comparison with last year's list, there are more than double the number of vehicles that meet the Top Safety Pick criteria. Only 13 models qualified at the beginning of the 2007 model year, with 10 more models being added during the year. Now, 11 more models have been added to the list. They are:

• Midsize cars
  Audi A3
  Honda Accord
• Small car
  Subaru Impreza (when equipped with electronic stability control)
• Minivan
  Honda Odyssey
• Midsize SUVs
  BMW X3
  BMW X5
  Hyundai Veracruz (if built after August 2007)
  Saturn VUE (if built after December 2007)
  Toyota Highlander
• Small SUV
  Honda Element
• Large pickup
  Toyota Tundra

The entire list of thirty-four models can be found at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) website, iihs.org.