Subaru Legacy and Outback, Dodge Avenger and Chrysler Sebring new IIHS Top Safety Picks

Four 2010 model year vehicles have just been awarded Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety: Subaru's Outback and Legacy, the Dodge Avenger and Chrysler's Sebring. Top Safety Picks are given to those vehicles that come equipped with electronic stability control and receive front, side, and rear crash test ratings of 'Good' in IIHS testing.
The Legacy has boasted a 'Good' rating for a few years now, while the all-new Outback takes the cake on its first try. The Sebring and Avenger continue their runs of 'Good' form in their current generations.
[Source: IIHS]











Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Farmboy 6:35PM (8/27/2009)
Like that'll help Sebring sales. Probably people want to avoid hitting an accident.
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bajabusta 6:37PM (8/27/2009)
That Outback looks like a chameleon..........it is just staring at me all lazy eyed.
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British_Rover 6:38PM (8/27/2009)
Hmhh I guess ugly does well in a crash then. Maybe the barrier tried to get out of the way at the horror of those ugly cars. ;)
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Rev 6:45PM (8/27/2009)
If ugly wins, why no Range Rovers???
The nicest looking Rover (if there is such a thing) can't hold a candle to the ugliest Subie...
Shiftright 6:58PM (8/27/2009)
Land Rovers are pretty unreliable, and I understand if their ponderous weight and inflated price tags turn people off, but I've never heard say they were ugly. In fact, they are some of the more aesthetically sophisticated and refined SUVs on the market.
Fearless Fred 8:11PM (8/27/2009)
well dang, guess its time to ditch the ol' cayman for an aztek!
British_Rover 8:51PM (8/27/2009)
You do know that the original Classic Range Rover was displayed at the Lourve back in 1970 right?
http://www.automobilesdeluxe.tv/on-the-original-range-rover/
Throughout 1970, a Range Rover was exhibited at the Louvre, as an “outstanding piece of modern sculpture”1. The directors of the Louvre intimated that the design was such that either to add or to take anything away from it would be to its detriment.
Dan 12:00AM (8/28/2009)
"The nicest looking Rover (if there is such a thing) can't hold a candle to the ugliest Subie..."
The original Tribeca disagrees!
Taglane 6:44PM (8/27/2009)
I've noticed a lot of ugly cars get great safety ratings.. Isn't that odd? Like they have reinforced fugly steel or something.
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Farmboy 7:12PM (8/27/2009)
So true, aren't the late-model Tauri considered like the safest cars ever, along with the Panther platform cars?
Sebastian Catalan 6:47PM (8/27/2009)
that POS sebring it's a top safety pick?
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Engo P 6:48PM (8/27/2009)
These cars are so ugly that any other car about to crash into them commits vehicular suicide.
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Shiftright 6:59PM (8/27/2009)
This is a good thing because if I drove either one of the Subarus or the Sebring I'd want to drive it into a wall. Couldn't hurt their looks...God, Subaru, you make great cars, now just quit being cheap, put down 'Car Design For Dummies' and hire a designer already! God knows enough of them are unemployed!
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Proscriptus 9:27AM (8/28/2009)
Didn't Subaru hire someone away from Alfa last year?
Shiftright 1:57PM (8/28/2009)
If they did, he must have been fired already, because Alfa has an extremely difficult time making an ugly car.
Rev Junkie 9:09PM (8/27/2009)
I think dying in a crash is preferable to owning a Sebring or Avenger.
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Lamar Miller 9:53PM (8/27/2009)
I really don't know what the beef everyone has with the Avenger. I think it looks a lot better than most of the junk out there today, especially Range Rovers and the like.
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inline6 12:41AM (8/28/2009)
I'm with you on the Avenger. All in all, it's not a terrible-looking car on the outside. Is it elegant, absolutely not. But it's tough and bold-looking. Now when it comes to the interior, engines, fit and finish...they aren't competitive.
I smiled a bit when I saw they crashed another set of Sebrings...that just leaves fewer on the road to see and judge the people driving. And the new Subarus lost ALL the elegance and sporty looks of their predecessors. And instead, they got taller, wider, and fatter.
But I live in Portland, OR and all I'll be seeing are the backs of these suckers driving 56 in a 55 in the left lane, slowing down in the acceleration lane while merging on to the freeway, and stopping at 2-way stop intersections where they DON'T have the stop sign, and waving everyone else cheerily through as cars pile up behind them. Ugh.
Art 9:59PM (8/27/2009)
too bad the last two score very, very low on desireability
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bwzd7p2 10:41PM (8/27/2009)
Uhm, previous Avengers and Sebrings weren't Good in the rear test. In fact, new active head restraints are the only thing that the IIHS tested this time. The side and front results are the same as from 2008.
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