Improving vehicle safety is an ongoing task, one that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) keeps up with by constantly improving and innovating their tests. A new vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention test was recently introduced by the IIHS to address crashes that occur at higher speeds and those in which the struck vehicle is a motorcycle or large truck. 10 small SUVs have undergone this new test, and the 2024 Subaru Forester was the only one tested to earn the highest possible rating of “Good”.
The performance requirements of the original vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention test only addressed low-speed crashes, leaving a gap in the evaluation protocol. As technology has evolved, real-world data has indicated that most vehicles with front-crash prevention systems were effective in preventing or avoiding higher-speed collisions, but no testing method existed to assess how a vehicle performed in these situations. Additional IIHS research also showed that today’s systems can be less effective at preventing crashes with motorcycles and medium or heavy trucks than they are at preventing crashes with other passenger vehicles, leaving another evaluation lapse that needed to be addressed.
The new test, designed to fill this need, includes trials run at 31, 37 and 43 mph. The test also evaluates crashes where the struck vehicle is a passenger car, a motorcycle, and a semitrailer, creating a better approximation of real-world crash scenarios and their severity than what previous tests were able to produce.
The 2024 Subaru Forester was the only car to earn top marks on this new test, avoiding a collision with the passenger car target at every tested speed and avoiding the motorcycle at 31 and 37 mph while also slowing by an average of 30 mph before hitting the motorcycle target in the 43 mph tests.
“We are thrilled that the Forester shined in this new tougher test,” said Jeff Walters, President and Chief Operating Officer, Subaru of America, Inc. “Our top priority with Forester, and all our models, is to provide customers with vehicles meeting the highest standards in safety.”
This isn’t the only IIHS rating where the Forester has impressed. It was also a 2023 Top Safety Pick, and has been a Top Safety Pick for 17 years straight from 2007 to 2023. This is just a part of the total 71 Top Safety Pick awards that Subaru has earned over the years, more than any other brand as of April 2024. It’s all proof of Subaru’s commitment to going above and beyond in safety!
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