Side impact collisions are among the most dangerous kinds of collisions we ever face in a passenger-sized vehicle. In order to keep our loved ones safe if we’re ever unfortunate enough to be involved in a t-bone, it helps to have some of the latest technology on our side. To that end, I’ve spent the last several years compiling lists of vehicles in various classes with the best crash test performance in side impacts to help parents and families make better new and used buying decisions. Previous articles in this series are below:

Side Impact Safety in 2015

The safest cars for side impact survival.

The safest minivans for side impact survival.

The safest small cars for side impact survival.

The safest SUVs and crossovers for side impact survival.

Side Impact Safety in 2016

The safest small SUVs and crossovers for side impact survival.

How dangerous are side impact collisions compared to frontal or rear collisions?

To put it simply, side impact collisions are the collisions that are most likely to take your life or the life of a loved one, when compared with front-, and rear-end collisions. From doing the math in an earlier post on side impact collisions, we know that even though only around 1 out of every 5 collisions involve side impacts, they lead to 1 out of every 3 vehicle occupant deaths in multiple vehicle collisions. In comparison, basically 1 out of 2 collisions involve frontal impacts, which lead to around 1 out of every 2 multiple collision deaths. Even more dramatically, while more than 1 out of every 4 collisions are rear enders, they only result in around 1 out of every 12 multiple collision deaths.

Looking at the numbers shows us side impacts are the collisions most likely to be fatal, even though they’re the least common. Knowing this, it’s worth figuring out how to reduce our risks of dying from one.

How to keep from dying in a side impact collision – what options do we have?

Unfortunately, if you live in the United States, you live in a country that isn’t the most willing to make changes to make our roads safer for everyone. In the US, you can drink much, much more before you’re considered drunk than you would in many parts of Europe (where the driver death rates are lower). Similarly, you don’t really have restrictions on how big your vehicle can be, regardless of how little experience you have as a driver. This isn’t the case in a number of other countries. You also live in a country that turns a blind eye toward many speed limits and is vehemently opposed to traffic cameras, despite their prevalence in countries with lower crash death rates. And of course, you’re also in a country where it’s hard to travel long (or short) distances inexpensively without driving.

I’ve written about some of these issues in past articles, such as one on why Swedish roads are among the safest in the world, and another on why driving in Europe is safer than driving in the US. I’ll have more articles soon about the things we can learn from other countries when it comes to driving safely (e.g., learning from Norway when it comes to child safety, looking into why Iceland has so few traffic deaths per year, and what Norway does differently to make its roads among the safest in the world for all drivers).

However, until we’re willing to make a number of necessary changes, if you’re invested in keeping your family safe from death in t-bone collisions, I’d recommend you:

1.) Avoid driving (e.g., by using public transportation or by cycling or walking…eventually this leads to a critical mass where everyone is safer).

2.) Limit driving (by the same measures above and by combining trips).

3.) Drive the  most side-impact-resistant vehicles possible.

Ultimately, to truly bring an end to side impact collisions, as well as to all collisions, we’re going to need to be forced to invest in the first two measures. I’d consider self-driving or autonomous vehicles to be part of “avoiding driving,” even though those aren’t going to eliminate collisions completely until the vast majority of vehicles on the road are no longer being driven by humans (the critical mass argument).

However, unless you’re in a position to completely follow step 1, you’ll need to focus on 2 and 3. Step 2 isn’t always feasible either, so this post focuses on Step 3, and deals specifically with choosing the safest minivans available for side impact protection in the US in 2016. I realize 2016 is close to an end, but this is also means this is the best time of the year to get discounts on current year models if you’re interested in the latest technology. Fortunately, as you’ll see below, you don’t always need the newest vehicles to be as safe as currently possible. You just need to know who’s doing the best job.

Calculating which minivans are the safest for side impact collisions by structural integrity (crush distance)

I’ve written about the math behind these calculations in previous posts, such as in the relevant articles on surviving side impacts in cars, minivans, and SUVs and crossovers, so hop back to those articles to read about this in detail. The short version is that the IIHS runs a side impact test. It simulates a 3300 lb SUV crashing into the side of a vehicle at 31 mph, or 143.7KJ of kinetic energy. Every vehicle deforms somewhat at the B-pillar when absorbing such an impact, and there’s a subscore in the IIHS test known as the “structure and safety cage” looks into how close the B-pillar intrudes into the center of the driver’s seat during the collision. Less intrusion is better. Let’s see who has the least intrusion right now in the minivan market.

I searched through the test scores of every minivan currently available in the US to make this best-of list. Keep in mind that the IIHS continually updates their side impact information while gathering additional information, so in a few months, it’s likely that these numbers may be slightly different, and I’ll have another article to reflect those changes. All data is accurate as of late October 2016, and all images are either from yours truly or courtesy of Wikipedia.

The 7 safest minivans for side impact collisions in 2016

19.5 cm – 2017 Chrysler Pacifica.

Chrysler pulled out the stops with the newly released Pacifica when it came to safety design. This is the safest minivan in the United States today when it comes to side impact crash survival, based on its 19.5 cm of crush protection. It’s notable that this score only place the Pacifica among the top 6 cars for side impact protection at the time of that article. However, given the additional ride height of the Pacifica compared to that of the average car, it would have additional advantages in a side collision that aren’t visible in this metric.

The 2017 Chrysler is also only one of two minivans (the other being the 2017 Kia Sedona) currently rated by the IIHS as a Top Safety Pick+ due to strong performance in optional superior-rated front crash prevention in addition to moderate and small overlap, side, and roof scores. It will be interesting to see where the Pacifica ranks in driver death rates when next compiled by the IIHS in a few years, as the Pacifica has every appearance of being a well-designed vehicle from a safety standpoint.

My full 3 across car seat guide to the Pacifica is available here.

18.5 cm – 2014-2016 Honda Odyssey.

Hot on the heels of the Pacifica is the current generation of the Honda Odyssey with 18.5 cm of intrusion resistance.  The Odyssey’s performance generally matches Honda’s claims several years ago before the debut of the current generation Odyssey, when they promised a 3.7x improvement in side intrusion resistance compared to the ’05-’10 Odyssey. That generation Odyssey offered 6 cm of resistance, so Honda’s claims were a bit far-fetched (the improvement was closer to 3.1x), but mostly accurate. That generation had an estimated driver’s death rate of 18.

Honda stepped up their performance here in the ’11 model year, for which the IIHS estimated the Odyssey to have a zero driver death rate, which is a nod to the overall strong track record of this vehicle and its drivers. It was only the second minivan to achieve this honor after the ’08 Sienna. Having compared the Sienna and Odyssey before, I’d place the Odyssey in the lead as one of the safest minivans in the country in a range of other measures as well.

My full 3 across car seat guide to the Odyssey is available here.

14.5 cm – 2015-2017 Kia Sedona.

The newest version of the Kia Sedona is an impressive vehicle all around, with strong safety scores in every area and a good amount of side intrusion protection. The Sedona is well worth considering as an alternative to the Odyssey and Sienna for anyone interested in a safe and reliable minivan. The 2017 edition is also one of only two minivans currently rated by the IIHS as a Top Safety Pick+ due to featuring optional superior-rated front crash prevention in addition to good scores in moderate and small overlap, side, and roof scores.

My full 3 across car seat guide to the Sedona is available here.

14-15.5 cm – 2014-2016 Toyota Sienna.

Despite having one higher intrusion score than the Sedona at 15.5 cm vs 14.5 cm, I placed the Sienna after the Sedona due to its also having a lower score at 14 cm in a separate test. It’s better to be conservative when it comes to issues of life and death, after all. The Sienna is a solid vehicle but continues to struggle with its head on collision passenger injury measures as tested by the NHTSA, and I wouldn’t recommend it before the Odyssey or Sedona. The ’11 Sienna also had a disappointingly high driver death rate of 27. In comparison, the previous generation, as I’ve noted above, had a DDR of 0 for the ’08 model year.

My full 3 across car seat guide to the Sienna is available here.

12 cm – 2016 Nissan Quest.

I’ll be honest; I forgot to include the Quest at the start because Nissan sells so few of them. However, it still deserves mention given how few choices we have in the US for minivans. The Quest is the only vehicle on this list that doesn’t have a “good” roof score (it’s “acceptable”), and it also has a dreadful “poor” small overlap front score that Nissan would do well to address.

It’s worth noting that Nissan did make some improvements to the Quest’s side impact performance in 2016; the 2011-2015 edition had a lower side impact intrusion score of 10.

My full 3 across car seat guide to the Quest is available here.

8-10.5 cm – 2011-2016 Chrysler Town & Country / Dodge Grand Caravan.

The most affordable, yet least reliable minivans in the country are the Chrysler twins: the Town & Country and the Dodge Grand Caravan. I wouldn’t recommend this minivan unless you were simply unable to purchase any of the aforementioned ones, simply due to how prone it is to needing repairs. There are better–and safer–vehicles out there. The Chrysler/Dodge minivan continues to suffer from a poor small overlap score, and is the only vehicle on the list to not feature at least an acceptable score in that test. The ’08-’11 twins had near identical DDRs at 25 and 27, respectively.

My full 3 across car seat guide to the Town & Country is available here while my Grand Caravan guide is available here.

How to choose a minivan to keep you safe in side impact crashes

In conclusion, the current crop of minivans is much smaller than the current crop of cars available in the United States; you really only have 7 models to choose from, and 2 of those are the same vehicle in different trim levels, which brings your realistic choices down to 6. Of these, I’d only actually recommend 4. This isn’t like with the cars, where you have an embarrassment of riches to choose from in terms of intrusion resistance.

To put it simply, if your top priority is all-around safety and you’re buying a new minivan, buy a Pacifica, an Odyssey, or a Sedona. If you can’t buy any of those, buy a Sienna. And if you can’t buy a Sienna, buy a used Odyssey, Sienna, or Sedona. Prior to the 2011 generations of the Odyssey and Sienna, the Sienna was the superior vehicle, but that changed with the 2011 generations. Time will tell if it changes back again.

It’s also worth noting that the side impact intrusion metric is just one that I happen to be looking at in the complex web of factors that interrelate in car safety overall, or even in side impact protection in particular. The 8-10.5 cm in the Chrysler twins isn’t particularly bad, even though it’s nowhere near the best in minivans, never mind among all vehicles on the road right now. It’s very worth noting that the ’08 Sienna, which was the first minivan to achieve a zero estimated driver death rate, had 8.5-9.5 cm of side impact intrusion, which would have made it the third-lowest vehicle on the list here. However, that Sienna also had front torso airbags, which the Chrysler twins at the time did not.

We can’t control everything. The safest option is still not driving at all, followed by driving as little as possible. But if you’ve got to drive, drive safely, and do your best to choose a safe vehicle. To that end, my safe family vehicle analyses for cars and SUVs are worth reading.

I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. It’s exciting to see where we’re headed in vehicle safety these days. I’ll have followup articles soon comparing comparing car and SUV safety along the same metrics. Stay tuned, remember to avoid common mistakes parents make with car seats, and check out some 3 across car seat guides while you’re here.

If you find the information on car safety, recommended car seats, and car seat reviews on this car seat blog helpful, you can shop through this Amazon link for any purchases, car seat-related or not. Canadians can shop through this link for Canadian purchases.

I’ve spent a lot of time recently writing about how dangerous side impact collisions can be, and how to keep our loved ones alive if we’re unfortunate enough to be involved in them. First I described the safest cars of 2015 per IIHS side impact intrusion metrics. Next I wrote an article describing the safest minivans available in 2015 for surviving t-bones based on the same metric. I then set to work to write the equivalent article on surviving side impacts in SUVs made in 2015. Most recently, I wrote about how to survive side impact collisions in small cars made in 2015. Today’s article is the latest in the series, and brings the focus to small SUVs and crossovers currently on the road.

To put it simply, side impact collisions are the collisions that are most likely to take your life or the life of a loved one, when compared with front-, and rear-end collisions. From doing the math in an earlier post on side impact collisions, we know that even though only around 1 out of every 5 collisions involve side impacts, they lead to 1 out of every 3 vehicle occupant deaths in multiple vehicle collisions. In comparison, basically 1 out of 2 collisions involve frontal impacts, which lead to around 1 out of every 2 multiple collision deaths. Even more dramatically, while more than 1 out of every 4 collisions are rear enders, they only result in around 1 out of every 12 multiple collision deaths.

Looking at the numbers shows us side impacts are the collisions most likely to be fatal, even though they’re the least common. Knowing this, it’s worth figuring out how to reduce our risks of dying from one.

How to keep from dying in a side impact collision – what options do we have?

Unfortunately, if you live in the United States, you live in a country that isn’t the most willing to make changes to make our roads safer for everyone. In the US, you can drink much, much more before you’re considered drunk than you would in many parts of Europe (where the driver death rates are lower). Similarly, you don’t really have restrictions on how big your vehicle can be, regardless of how little experience you have as a driver. This isn’t the case in a number of other countries. You also live in a country that turns a blind eye toward many speed limits and is vehemently opposed to traffic cameras, despite their prevalence in countries with lower crash death rates. And of course, you’re also in a country where it’s hard to travel long (or short) distances inexpensively without driving.

I’ve written about some of these issues in past articles, such as one on why Swedish roads are among the safest in the world, and another on why driving in Europe is safer than driving in the US. I’ll have more articles soon about the things we can learn from other countries when it comes to driving safely.

However, until we’re willing to make a number of necessary changes, if you’re invested in keeping your family safe from death in t-bone collisions, I’d recommend you:

1.) Avoid driving (e.g., by using public transportation or by cycling or walking…eventually this leads to a critical mass where everyone is safer).

2.) Limit driving (by the same measures above and by combining trips).

3.) Drive the  most side-impact-resistant vehicles possible.

Ultimately, to truly bring an end to side impact collisions, as well as to all collisions, we’re going to need to be forced to invest in the first two measures. I’d consider self-driving or autonomous vehicles to be part of “avoiding driving,” even though those aren’t going to eliminate collisions completely until the vast majority of vehicles on the road are no longer being driven by humans (the critical mass argument).

However, unless you’re in a position to completely follow step 1, you’ll need to focus on 2 and 3. Step 2 isn’t always feasible either, so this post focuses on Step 3, and deals specifically with choosing the safest small SUVs and crossovers available for side impact protection in the US in 2016. I’ve written about the best cars for surviving side impacts, the best small cars for surviving small impacts, the best minivans for surviving small impacts, and the best SUVs and crossovers for surviving small impacts, all for 2015 models. It’s time to focus on 2016 models, since the technology is always improving, and unfortunately, these crashes aren’t going away–not yet, anyway.

Calculating which small SUVs and crossovers are the safest for side impact collisions by structural integrity (crush distance)

I’ve written about the math behind these calculations in previous posts, such as in the relevant articles on surviving side impacts in 2015 cars, minivans, and SUVs and crossovers, so hop back to those articles to read about this in detail. The short version is that the IIHS runs a side impact test. It simulates a 3300 lb SUV crashing into the side of a vehicle at 31 mph, or 143.7KJ of kinetic energy. Every vehicle deforms somewhat at the B-pillar when absorbing such an impact, and there’s a subscore in the IIHS test known as the “structure and safety cage” looks into how close the B-pillar intrudes into the center of the driver’s seat during the collision. Less intrusion is better. Let’s see who has the least intrusion right now in the small SUV market.

I searched through the test scores of every small (compact) or mini (subcompact) SUV or crossover currently available in the US to make this best-of list. Keep in mind that the IIHS continually updates their side impact information while gathering additional information, so in a few months, it’s likely that these numbers may be slightly different. All data is accurate as of late October 2015, and all images are either from yours truly or courtesy of Wikipedia.

The safest small SUVs and crossovers for side impact collisions in 2016

19.5 cm – 2013-2016 Ford Escape.

The current generation Ford Escape at 19.5 cm of intrusion protection was the highest-ranked small SUV in the overall 2015 SUV comparison, and it retains the title in 2016. The current Escape is a great improvement over the previous Escape, which only featured between 5.5 and 7.5 cm of intrusion protection. However, the current gen Escape still has a poor small overlap crash score, and is one of only a handful of vehicles on this list to do so. Ford can and needs to do better here, as more and more vehicles are acing the small overlap test, and the Escape is standing out in a bad way.

The ’09-’11 model years of the previous generation were estimated in the most recent driver death rate survey to have had DDRs of 27 and 35 in the 2WD and 4WD models respectively.

My full 3 across car seat guide to the Escape is available here.

19 cm – 2016 Fiat 500X.

Hot on the heels of the Escape with 19 cm of impact resistance is the newly released Fiat 500X. It shares the same platform with the newly released Jeep Renegade and Fiat 500L, and is essentially a slightly Europeanized version of the Renegade. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles also scored a safety hit with the Fiat 500L, which was the most impact-resistant small car of 2015, and the Dodge Dart, which was the second best small car in 2015 for impact resistance. Unlike the 500L and Ford Escape, however, the 500X features a good small overlap score in addition to good scores in all other areas tested by the IIHS.

18.5 cm  – 2013-2016 Mazda CX-5.

Immediately after the Fiat comes the current generation Mazda CX-5. Once again, unlike the Escape, it has a good small overlap score, and has had one since the ’14 model year.  As with several other vehicles on this list, I look forward to seeing the CX-5 show up on a driver death rate study; Mazda will need to sell more of them for it to make an appearance.

My full 3 across car seat guide to the CX-5 is available here.

16.5 cm – 2014-2015 Jeep Patriot / Jeep Compass.

I have to admit that I almost forgot to include the Jeep Patriot or its curvy twin, the Compass. Both suffer from poor small overlap scores and are also among the only vehicles on the list to have no form of front crash prevention equipment whatsoever. However, with 16.5 cm of side impact resistance, both stand out in a good way, at least in this measure. These are also the second and third vehicles, respectively, by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to make this list.  The ’14 refresh of the Patriot / Compass also brought badly-needed side torso airbags to the front passenger seats; stay away from older years than 2014 if you’re considering used Patriots and Compasses.

The ’08-’11 model years of this generation were estimated in the most recent driver death rate survey to have had a DDRs of 7 for the 2WD Compass, and 11 and 57 for the 4WD and 2WD Patriots, respectively.

My full 3 across car seat guide to the Patriot is available here, while my Compass guide is available here.

15.5 cm – 2013-2016 Buick Encore / Chevrolet Trax.

The Buick Encore and its twin, the Chevrolet Trax, are recent debuts in the small SUV / crossover market, but have already shown themselves to be strong contenders with 15.5 cm of side impact intrusion resistance. Once again, both feature good small overlap scores, and are among the first GM vehicles to show up on any of the impact resistance lists I’ve written so far.

You can read my full 3 across guide to the Encore / Trax here.

14.5-15 cm — 2013-2016 Toyota Rav4.

The Rav4 makes its first appearance in a positive light on this blog with the strong showing in 14.5-15 cm of side impact intrusion resistance. After being plagued with a poor small overlap score for years, Toyota finally addressed this in models built after November 2014, and now the Rav4 joins the ranks of small SUVs and crossovers with a good small overlap score.

Unfortunately, it still suffers from the overlapping seat belt issue; hopefully Toyota will address this soon, as it significantly limits the utility of this sport utility vehicle. For now, however, we can celebrate the improved small overlap score and the improvement in intrusion resistance over the previous generation, which featured only 7 cm of intrusion resistance. The ’08-’11 model years of that generation were estimated in the most recent driver death rate survey to have had DDRs of 19 and 35 in the 4WD and 2WD editions respectively.

My full 3 across car seat guide to the Rav4 is available here.

14 cm – 2015-2016 Honda CR-V.

The CR-V has long been one of my favorite small SUVs due to its rock solid reliability, but until recently, it had been dogged by a marginal small overlap score. Honda finally addressed this in 2015, and now the CR-V joins the ranks of small crossovers with good scores up and down the board.

Featuring 14.5 cm of impact intrusion resistance, it remains competitive with some of the best small crossovers on the market today, although the current generation’s resistance is nearly identical to that of the previous generation at 13 cm. The ’08-’11 model years of that generation were estimated in the most recent driver death rate survey to have had DDRs of 17 and 19 in the 4WD and 2WD editions respectively.

My full 3 across car seat guide to the CR-V is available here.

14 cm – 2014-2016 Subaru Forester.

Tied with the CR-V at 14 cm is the Forester from Subaru. Like most of the vehicles on this list, it features a good small overlap score from 2014 onward, as well as good scores in every other area. The 14 cm is an improvement over the 11.5 cm of the previous generation Forester. The ’09-’11 model years of that generation were estimated in the most recent driver death rate survey to have had a DDR of 20.

My full 3 across car seat guide to the Forester is available here.

14 cm – 2015-2016 Audi Q3.

Finally, the Audi Q3 completes a 3-way tie with the Forester and CR-V at 14 cm of side impact intrusion resistance. The Q3 is a new entry from Audi, introduced in 2014 as a smaller counterpart to the mid-sized Q5, which itself is a smaller version of their Q7. Like nearly all vehicles on this list, it has good crash test scores, including a good small overlap score.

More broadly, once again, I have to give Fiat Chrysler Automobiles credit for making three of the most intrusion-resistant small SUVs available in the US market today in the Fiat 500X, Jeep Patriot, and Jeep Compass. They dominate this list the way they dominated the small car side impact resistance list of 2015, which they dominated the same way Volvo, Ford and Mercedes-Benz dominated the SUV/crossover list and Subaru, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and Mercedes-Benz dominated the overall car list. If you’re looking for safe vehicles, these are the manufacturers to pay attention to right now.

How to choose a small SUV or crossover to keep your loved ones safe in side impact crashes

In conclusion, the market for safe small SUVs keeps getting better every day in the United States. There are several compact crossovers that came within a fraction of a centimeter of making the list, but which I did not include in order to keep the list at the best of the best. The 2014-2016 Nissan Rogue, for example, featured 13.5 cm of intrusion resistance.

As in the other lists I’ve written, one of the overriding lessons is to consider the subscore for structural integrity rather than just stopping at the “good” overall side impact score. Small numbers can make a big difference in a high speed collision, and much as with an unbuckled seat belt, we don’t get the chance to change our minds in which vehicle we’ve chosen in the instant before a collision.

We can’t control everything. The safest option is still not driving at all, followed by driving as little as possible. But if you’ve got to drive, drive safely, and do your best to choose a safe vehicle. If you’re going to use it with children, definitely check out the plethora of best practice articles I’ve written here on choosing safe car seats, installation tips, seat reviews, and more information to help you make informed decisions.

I loved writing this article, and I hope you enjoyed reading it. I look forward to writing more articles examining various factors in car safety design and how they relate to keeping you and your loved ones safer while on the road. Stay tuned, remember to avoid common mistakes parents make with car seats, and check out some 3 across car seat guides while you’re here.

If you find the information on car safety, recommended car seats, and car seat reviews on this car seat blog helpful, you can shop through this Amazon link for any purchases, car seat-related or not. Canadians can shop through this link for Canadian purchases.

Lately, I’ve been writing about the safest vehicles we can place our loved ones in when it comes to surviving side impact collisions. First I described the safest cars of 2015 per IIHS side impact intrusion metrics. Next I wrote an article describing the safest minivans available in 2015 for surviving t-bones based on the same metric. I then set to work to write the equivalent article on surviving side impacts in SUVs made in 2015. Today’s article continues the series with an emphasis on side impact collision survival in subcompact and compact (mini and small) cars made in 2015.

As I’ve noted in the previous editions of this series, side impact collisions tend to be the most life-threatening, out of side-, front-, and rear-end collisions. We’re going to dig into the numbers in a minute to explain this.

Unfortunately, due to a number of reasons, car collisions continue to take close to 100 lives each day across the United States. The NHTSA estimates of crash fatalities are always a little lower than the actual number, since the NHTSA only counts traffic deaths that occur on public roads. The NSC does a more accurate job, since they include these deaths. That said, let’s use the NHTSA data from 2013 to look at the impact of side-impact collisions.

What kind of car crash is most likely to be fatal, and what kind is most common, out of front, rear, and side collisions?

Out of the 32,719 auto-related deaths of 2013, 65% of those, or 21,268, involved occupants of passenger vehicles (cars, pickup trucks, and SUVs). Of those collisions, overall, 53% of deaths were due to frontal impacts, 25% were due to side impacts, 5% were due to rear impacts, and around 16% were due to rollovers.

Let’s break that down into multiple-vehicle collisions, since that’s what we’re most interested in here. About 10,950 deaths were in single vehicle crashes while around 10,318 were due to multiple-vehicle crashes. Of that 10,318, 34% were due to side impacts while 56% were due to frontal collisions, 8% were due to rear collisions, and 2% were due to rollovers.

In contrast, when looking at collisions overall, 52% of collision claims made to insurance companies involve frontal collisions, while 21% involve side collisions (10% on the driver’s end and 11% on the passenger’s), and 28% involve rear impacts.

What this means is that even though only around 1 out of every 5 collisions involve side impacts, they lead to 1 out of every 3 vehicle occupant deaths in multiple vehicle collisions. In comparison, basically 1 out of 2 collisions involve frontal impacts, which lead to around 1 out of every 2 multiple collision deaths. Even more dramatically, while more than 1 out of every 4 collisions are rear enders, they only result in around 1 out of every 12 multiple collision deaths.

Looking at the data makes it clear that side impacts are the collisions most likely to be fatal, even though they’re actually the least common type of collision.

Small cars are better for the earth…but which are the safest?

The odds are even more against us when driving smaller cars, since unfortunately, this is a country populated by giant vehicles and people who don’t drive them very safely. This is an example of a side collision between a small vehicle and a large one. The results were tragic, but unfortunately expected, given the speed and mass discrepancies present. But there are plenty of reasons to drive small cars, whether to save money in purchase prices or in fuel, or to lessen our impacts on the environment, or to make it easier to park and drive in general, or to reduce the risks we place on individuals without any vehicular protection, such as cyclists, children, and pedestrians.

With that knowledge in mind, how do we protect our loved ones while driving small cars? Because whether our loved ones are spouses, young children, adolescents, grown children, siblings, parents, or lifelong friends, they deserve to be safe while traveling, even if they aren’t willing or capable of spending the $51,800 necessary to buy the safest car for surviving a side impact, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. So what other options are there?

How to keep from dying in a side impact collision – what can we do?

Unfortunately, it’s going to take a while before we make the societal changes necessary to make our roads safer for everyone. We have a much more lax policy on drunk driving than most other countries with lower car crash death rates. We have much fewer restrictions on the sizes of vehicles people can drive. We don’t enforce speed limits nearly as much. We also design our roads to make it easy to go quickly instead of safely. We have few transportation alternatives so we have more people who drive farther distances and who drive more frequently.

I’ve written about some of these issues in past articles, such as one on why Swedish roads are among the safest in the world, and another on why driving in Europe is safer than driving in the US. I’ll have more articles soon about the things we can learn from other countries when it comes to driving safely.

However, until we’re willing to make a number of necessary changes, if you’re invested in keeping your family safe from death in t-bone collisions, I’d recommend you:

1.) Avoid driving (e.g., by using public transportation or by cycling or walking…eventually this leads to a critical mass where everyone is safer).

2.) Limit driving (by the same measures above and by combining trips).

3.) Drive the  most side-impact-resistant vehicles possible.

Ultimately, to truly bring an end to side impact collisions, as well as to all collisions, we’re going to need to be forced to invest in the first two measures. I’d consider self-driving or autonomous vehicles to be part of “avoiding driving,” even though those aren’t going to eliminate collisions completely until the vast majority of vehicles on the road are no longer being driven by humans (the critical mass argument).

However, unless you’re in a position to completely follow step 1, you’ll need to focus on 2 and 3. Step 2 isn’t always feasible either, so this post focuses on Step 3, and is specifically related to choosing the safest small cars for side impacts currently available in the US in 2015. The equivalent article about the safest cars of any size for side impacts in the US in 2015 is here while the equivalent article about the safest minivans for side impacts in the US in 2015 is here. I most recently finished the equivalent article on the safest SUVs and crossovers for surviving side impacts in the US in 2015.

Calculating which small cars are the safest for side impact collisions by structural integrity (crush distance)

I’ve written about the math behind these calculations in previous posts, such as in the relevant articles on surviving side impacts in 2015 cars, minivans, and SUVs and crossovers, so hop back to those articles to read about this in detail. The short version is that the IIHS runs a side impact test. It simulates a 3300 lb SUV crashing into the side of a vehicle at 31 mph, or 143.7KJ of kinetic energy. Every vehicle deforms somewhat at the B-pillar when absorbing such an impact, and there’s a subscore in the IIHS test known as the “structure and safety cage” looks into how close the B-pillar intrudes into the center of the driver’s seat during the collision. Less intrusion is better.

The greater that crush space, given a vehicle’s overall “good” score for the side impact test and presence of airbags, the safer the vehicle.The threshold for a “good” subscore in the structural component of the side impact test is 12.5 cm of impact resistance, and for me, that’s where we’re just getting started. It’s possible to have an “acceptable” subscore or even a “marginal” one and still have an overall “good” score, but every component in a vehicle is either adding to or taking away from your safety, and I’m interested in looking behind the curtain, as it were.

Even though a vehicle might score “good” overall on the side impact test, would you rather sit in one with a 3 cm crush space or one with a 30 cm crush space?

That’s what this list is based on. Every cm between you and a life-ending amount of energy is a life-preserving cm of survival space. Let’s see who’s doing the best job at it right now.

I searched through the test scores of every small (compact) or mini (subcompact) car currently available in the US to make this best-of list. Keep in mind that the IIHS continually updates their side impact information while gathering additional information, so in a few months, it’s likely that these numbers may be slightly different. All data is accurate as of Saturday, October 24th, 2015, and all images are courtesy of Wikipedia.

The 10 safest small cars for side impact collisions in 2015

22 cm – 2015, 2016 Volkswagen Golf / GTI.

I first wrote about the Volkswagen Golf in the overall top car side impact survival list from earlier this summer, and was pleasantly surprised to find a small car being the 3rd best car on the list. In the land of small cars, it’s the best of the bunch. The Golf is available in several flavors, but all feature good safety scores, including the side impact frontal crash test score, and all feature a class-leading 22 cm of side impact intrusion protection.

You can read my full 3 across car seat guide to the Golf / GTI here.

21 cm – 2014, 2015 Fiat 500L. 

I first wrote about the Fiat 500L in the overall top car side impact survival list from earlier this summer, and was pleasantly surprised to find multiple small cars high on the list. In the land of small cars, it’s the second highest vehicle on the list. It’s the 4-door analogue to the Fiat 500, which is a 2-door subcompact hatchback.The biggest drawback to the 500L is its poor small overlap score, which Fiat needs to address, and soon.

You can read my full 3 across car seat guide to the 500L here.

19 cm – 2013-2015 Dodge Dart.

The Dart was the only other small car to make an appearance on the top intrusion-resistant car list I wrote up earlier, and it’s no surprise as a result to see it rank well here. The Dart features a bevy of good safety scores and also has an acceptable small overlap score. Being a new model (besides the Dart from the ’70s, which was a completely different car), it hasn’t had any driver death rate data published yet, but I’m looking forward to seeing how it does. It’s also worth noting that the Dodge is the second Fiat Chrysler Automobiles vehicle on this list.

You can read my full 3 across car seat guide to the Dart here.

18.5 cm – 2014-2015 Toyota Corolla.

The Corolla is the most popular small car in the US, as well as the best-selling small car on the planet. It’s good to see it’s also one of the safest you can buy in the US when it comes to surviving side impact collisions. The biggest safety drawback to the current generation Corolla is its marginal small overlap score. The largest drawback from a car seat perspective is that the current generation is also essentially a 4-person vehicle, and you can’t install 3 car seats across the back row.

The previous generation of the Corolla had a driver death rate of 32 during the ’10-’11 model years,with slightly more than half (18) due to multiple-vehicle crashes. That generation featured 14.5 cm of intrusion resistance. This was one of the best-performing small cars in terms of driver survival in that study, and I look forward to further improvements in the future from Toyota here.

I’ve written up a full 3 across car seat guide to several generations of the Corolla here.

18.5 cm – 2016 Scion iA.

Marketed by Toyota’s young-aimed brand Scion, the iA is actually a rebranded Mazda 2, since Mazda and Toyota partnered and Mazda pulled the 2 from the US market as a result. we get to enjoy the iA. The first minicar on the list, it features good safety scores in every area, including in the small overlap test, and even features some level of automated front crash prevention. I’m looking forward to learning more about how the iA performs in real-world conditions under the ultimate metric: the driver death rate.

17.5 cm – 2012-2015 Fiat 500.

The Fiat 500 is the second minicar on the list, as well as the second Fiat and third vehicle by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. It has good safety scores in every area except for in the small overlap crash test, where it scored poorly. In that respect, it’s identical to its larger 500 sibling.

Unlike the Fiat 500L, the 500 is a 2-door hatchback and one of the shortest cars on the market, but amazingly, you can still fit multiple car seats in the back seat. And judging by its side impact scores, the children inside will be well protected. Good work, Fiat!

17 cm – 2015 Kia Forte.

Kia makes their first appearance on any of the best intrusion resistant lists I’ve written so far with the Forte. Like most of the vehicles on this list, it features good safety scores in every area but the small impact test, where it obtained a marginal score. Kia will need to pay attention to that in the future to stay competitive.

The previous generation of the Forte had a driver death rate of 46 during the ’10-’11 model years and a side impact intrusion resistance of 7.5-9 cm, which gives you an idea of how much of an improvement the current generation is over the previous one. I look forward to seeing improvements in that driver death rate as well.

You can see my 3 across car seat guide to the Forte here.

16.5 cm – 2011-2015 Mini Cooper Countryman.

The BMW-owned Mini Cooper Countryman also scores impressively in intrusion resistance, and is the first vehicle on the list to feature good safety scores in all IIHS tests, including in the small overlap crash test. It’s Mini’s analogue to the Fiat 500L, being a compact 4-door version of the subcompact 2-door hatchback.

Its smaller sibling, the Cooper, does not yet have a side impact test score available, but I imagine it should do about as well as the Cooper Countryman. The smaller Cooper had a driver death rate of 21 during the ’09-’11 model years and offered 12 cm of intrusion resistance.

15.5 cm – 2011-2015 Chevrolet Cruze.

The Cruze is one of the most affordable cars on this list, and is another example of how safe car designs don’t have to cost a fortune. The largest strike against it is its marginal small overlap crash score, which Chevrolet will need to address in the future.

The first year of this generation, the ’11 Cruze, had a driver death rate of 42, of which nearly all deaths (35) were estimated to occur due to multiple-vehicle collisions. That’s higher than I’d like to see in any vehicle, but I’m hopeful it’ll decrease in coming years as the Cruze (and every other vehicle here) is outfitted with increasingly sophisticated crash prevention technology.

My full 3 across car seat guide for the Cruze is available here.

14.5 cm – 2013-2015 Honda Civic.

Last but not least (well, least in this list, but not compared to all small cars on the market), the Honda Civic deserves mention for its 14.5 cm of intrusion resistance. The previous generation of the Civic featured a driver death rate of 49 (with 28 due to multi-vehicle crashes) during the ’08-’11 model years, which was the worst driver death rate of the vehicles on this list with that data available. However, it’s important to note that it was still statistically within the confidence interval of the driver death rates of the Corolla, Cruze, and Forte. Its intrusion score was 10.5 cm.

I’ve put together a 3 across car seat guide for the Civic that spans several generations; you can access it here.

More broadly, I have to give Fiat Chrysler Automobiles credit for making three of the most intrusion-resistant small cars available in the US market today in the Fiat 500L, 500, and Dodge Dart. They dominate this list the way Ford and Mercedes-Benz dominated the SUV/crossover list and Subaru, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and Mercedes-Benz dominated the overall car list. If you’re looking for safe vehicles, these are the manufacturers to pay attention to right now.

How to choose a small car to keep your loved ones safe in side impact crashes

In conclusion, the market for safe small cars keeps getting better every day in the United States. There are several small cars that came within a fraction of a centimeter of making the list, but which I did not include in order to keep the list at the best of the best. The 2014-2015 Mazda 3, 2012-2015 Smart Fortwo, and 2014-2015 Ford Fiesta all tied at 14 cm of intrusion resistance, just behind the Civic.

As in the other lists, the takeaway message is that it’s worth the effort to look past the top “good” score and look at the subscore for structural integrity when looking for safe vehicles to survive side impacts. Naturally, you’ll start out with the overall “good” score and making sure that side airbags are present, but if you’re deciding between vehicles, this is a subscore that should be on your priority list if side impact survival is important to you.

Small cars can be as safe as (or even safer than) much larger ones

A final takeaway is the reminder that simply because a vehicle doesn’t show up on this list doesn’t mean that it isn’t safe. When it comes to small cars, the safest one in the most recent driver death rate study (which I’ve discussed extensively here) was the ’10-’11 Toyota Prius with a DDR of 16 and an intrusion score of 11-11.5 cm. That’s nowhere close to the top vehicles here, but its driver death rate was lower than that of most vehicles on the entire list, including much larger vehicles like the Chrysler Town & Country (25), Dodge Grand Caravan (27), Toyota Sienna (27), Chevrolet Impala (35), and Ford F-150 (19-39). That’s very impressive, and a strong reminder that safety doesn’t simply mean driving the largest vehicles you can find.

We can’t control everything. The safest option is still not driving at all, followed by driving as little as possible. But if you’ve got to drive, drive safely, and do your best to choose a safe vehicle. If you’re going to use it with children, definitely check out the plethora of best practice articles I’ve written here on choosing safe car seats, installation tips, seat reviews, and more information to help you make informed decisions.

I loved writing this article, and I hope you enjoyed reading it. I look forward to writing more articles examining various factors in car safety design and how they relate to keeping you and your loved ones safer while on the road. Stay tuned, remember to avoid common mistakes parents make with car seats, and check out some 3 across car seat guides while you’re here.

If you find the information on car safety, recommended car seats, and car seat reviews on this car seat blog helpful, you can shop through this Amazon link for any purchases, car seat-related or not. Canadians can shop through this link for Canadian purchases.

In the last few weeks I’ve been writing more than usual about the dangers of side impact collisions. First I wrote about the safest cars of 2015 based on an intrusion metric measured by the IIHS in their side impact collision tests, and then I followed up with an article on the safest minivans of 2015 for surviving t-bone collisions. Today’s article has to do with the safest SUVs and crossover in 2015 when it comes to surviving side impact collisions. I’ll likely follow it up in the near future with an article on the safest small (compact) and mini (subcompact) cars for surviving t-bones in 2015, as well as a series on the best cars, minivans, and SUVs or crossovers for surviving rollovers.

Side impact collisions are the collisions most likely to lead to fatalities, when compared to front and rear-impact collisions. These collisions are also commonly known as t-bones and broadside collisions since they frequently occur at intersections. However, they don’t just occur at normal breaks in the roadway, but can also occur when two vehicles are traveling in opposite directions and one loses control in a skid and winds up broadsided by the other after ending up in the opposing lane. They’re real and they’re deadly due to how little space there is for crash-absorbing structures beside us in vehicles compared to in front of and behind us.

I discuss these crashes fairly often on this blog, since a big part of what I focus on is how to avoid all kinds of crashes in the first place in order to create a safer driving community, both in the United States and abroad. This is an example of a fatal side impact collision from this year that involved an SUV t-boned by a car traveling at a high rate of speed. Everyone in both vehicles perished except for a child who was in a car seat, underscoring the importance of the use of well-fitting and well-designed car seats whenever traveling with children. Unfortunately, that child is today without a mother due to the negligence of other drivers. Since we can’t control how or what others drive, we need to look to other solutions to keep us safe.

I’ll review some material covered from the previous article on the safest family minivans, so if you’re simply interested in the vehicles themselves, skip down to the section with pictures.

How to stay alive in a side impact collision – the 3 biggest factors

Unfortunately, even though we live in a country where tens of thousands of people die each year due to car collisions in general and several thousand die each year due to side impact collisions in particular, we aren’t yet ready as a nation to put greater limits on how quickly others can drive, how large of vehicles they can drive, or how much others have to comply with drinking limits or traffic signs.

If anything, speed limits have consistently increased throughout the country while the most popular vehicle in the country continues to be a large pickup truck, the Ford F-150. People are also against the use of speed cameras and restrictions on auto use throughout the country, which suggests the problems we face will only continue to increase until gasoline is too expensive to make the widespread practices of excessive driving, speeding, and heavy vehicle purchasing practical.

Until and unless those societal changes come to pass, as I noted earlier, the three best ways to protect yourself and your loved ones from dying in t-bone collisions today are to either:

1.) Avoid driving (e.g., by using public transportation or by cycling or walking…eventually this leads to a critical mass where everyone is safer).

2.) Limit driving (by the same measures above and by combining trips).

3.) Drive the  most side-impact-resistant vehicles possible.

Ultimately, to truly bring an end to side impact collisions, as well as to all collisions, we’re going to need to be forced to invest in the first two measures. I’d consider self-driving or autonomous vehicles to be part of “avoiding driving,” even though those aren’t going to eliminate collisions completely until the vast majority of vehicles on the road are no longer being driven by humans (the critical mass argument). However, unless you’re in a position to completely follow step 1, you’ll need to focus on 2 and 3. Step 2 isn’t always feasible either, so this post focuses on Step 3, and is specifically related to choosing the safest SUVs and crossovers for side impacts currently available in the US in 2015. The equivalent article about the safest cars for side impacts in the US in 2015 is here while the equivalent article about the safest minivans for side impacts in the US in 2015 is here.

Calculating which SUVs and crossovers are the safest for side impact collisions by structural integrity (crush distance)

As in the car and minivan lists, the methodology here is based on the IIHS-measured crush distance in their side impact collision test, which involves a 3,300 SUV-like barrier rammed into the driver’s side of a vehicle at 31 mph. What’s simulated is 143.7KJ of kinetic energy, and a subsection of the IIHS test known as the “structure and safety cage” looks into how close the B-pillar intrudes into the center of the driver’s seat during the collision. Less intrusion is better.

The greater that crush space, given a vehicle’s overall “good” score for the side impact test and presence of airbags, the safer the vehicle.The threshold for a “good” subscore in the structural component of the side impact test is 12.5 cm of impact resistance, and for me, that’s where we’re just getting started. It’s possible to have an “acceptable” subscore or even a “marginal” one and still have an overall “good” score, but every component in a vehicle is either adding to or taking away from your safety, and I’m interested in looking behind the curtain, as it were.

Even though a vehicle might score “good” overall on the side impact test, would you rather sit in one with a 3 cm crush space or one with a 30 cm crush space?

That’s what this list is based on. Every cm between you and a life-ending amount of energy is a life-preserving cm of survival space. Let’s see who’s doing the best job at it right now.

I looked through every SUV for which data was available regarding side impact intrusion levels from the IIHS to come up with a best-of list. It’s worth noting that the IIHS continually updates their side impact information while gathering additional information, so in a few months, it’s likely that these numbers may be slightly different. All data is accurate as of Friday, September 18th, 2015, and all images are courtesy of Wikipedia.

The 12 safest SUVs and crossovers for side impact collisions in 2015

26 cm – 2016 Volvo XC90.

The current generation Volvo XC90 is the safest SUV or crossover you can buy today in the US when it comes to side impact crash protection, based on its 26 cm of crush protection. As of this writing, no other SUV or crossover does a better job, and to be even more direct, no other vehicle does any better, out of all cars, minivans and SUVs currently on the market. In other words, when it comes to side impact protection, Volvo sets the benchmark for every other vehicle to aspire to at this time. To put it in yet another way, if a Ford Escape (see below) crashed into you at 31 mph while you were driving an XC90, there’d be nearly a full foot of space between the center of your seat and the crushed B-pillar after the collision.

That’s impressive.

The original XC90 was an impressive vehicle, but it wouldn’t have made this list, as its intrusion-resistance score was 9 cm. That said, interestingly, the original XC90, which was recently on the zero driver death rate list for the ’08-’11 model years, featured a lower HIC-15 impact score (where lower is better) at 61 than the current XC90 at 233. To put it simply, this is a measure of the force the crash test dummy experienced during the side impact collision. Zero is best, while a score around 615 is the threshold for a significant risk of brain damage. The old XC90, new XC90, and all of the other SUVs on this list scored in the safe range, but naturally, the lower the score, the better.

I look forward to seeing how the new XC90 performs in the ultimate measure of driver safety–the next set of driver death rate results a few years from now.

My full 3 across car seat guide to the XC90 is available here.

25 cm – 2014-2015 BMW X5.

Immediately after the XC90 comes the BMW X5 with a stellar intrusion-resistance score of 25 cm. Given BMW’s history of attention to safety, this isn’t surprising, but it’s still impressive.

It’s worth noting that the previous generation of the X5 would have made this top side impact-resistance list as well, clocking in with 19.5 cm of crush protection at the B-pillar. However, that X5, specifically the ’08-’11 4WD edition, had a surprisingly high driver death rate of 14, suggesting, of course, that there’s more to survival than mitigating side impact intrusion. It’s also worth noting that as of today, the X5 has still never received a roof strength score from the IIHS, and that whenever driver death rate information is released involving the X5, at least half of the deaths tend to be due to rollovers in single-vehicle collisions. I’ll have a followup article soon detailing the safest vehicles for surviving rollovers, and it’s safe to say that the X5 will not be on that list.

My full 3 across car seat guide to the X5 is available here.

24 cm – 2011-2015 Mercedes-Benz GLK (e.g., GLK 350).

Hot on the heels of the X5 is the GLK crossover by MB with a highly impressive intrusion score of 24 cm, equaling that of Mercedes-Benz’s E-Class sedan. Given MB’s history of developing safe vehicles, this isn’t much of a surprise. What’s more of a surprise is the fact that the GLK crossover design is at least 4 years old in this generation, meaning it has been providing an exceptional amount of safety for years that other vehicles are just beginning to approach, never mind exceed.I  look forward to seeing the GLK show up on a driver death rate study; MB will need to sell more of them for it to make an appearance.

My full 3 across car seat guide to the GLK is available here.

23.5 cm – 2011-2015 Ford Explorer.

The Ford Explorer marks the first US-branded SUV on the list, and provides an impressive 23.5 cm of side intrusion protection. The current generation Explorer, however, continues to be dogged by a relatively poor small overlap score, only achieving a “marginal” rating by the IIHS in that area despite strong scores in all other areas. The side impact intrusion figure, however, is a great step forward over the previous generation, which only offered a paltry 4.5 cm of protection.

As with the GLK, I look forward to seeing the Explorer show up on a driver death rate study; I am sure Ford won’t have trouble selling this generation, especially given how much of an improvement it is over previous ones.

My full 3 across car seat guide to the Explorer is available here.

23 cm – 2009-2015 Audi Q5.

Audi makes their first and only appearance on the list with the Q5, which holds the impressive distinction of being the oldest model to make the top list with a design dating back to 2009.  The 2015 edition was also updated with a reinforced front-end to result in a good small overlap score. I look forward to seeing the Q5 show up on a driver death rate study; Audi will need to sell more of them for it to make an appearance. However, given their position in the market as an alternative to MB and BMW, I doubt they’ll lose sleep wondering if they sell enough Q5s to show up in death rate studies, although the A4 and A6 pop up (and do very well) from time to time.

My full 3 across car seat guide to the Q5 is available here.

22 cm – 2010-2015 Volvo XC60.

Volvo makes their second appearance on any of the intrusion-resistant lists I’ve written so far with the XC60. It’s the third vehicle on this list to feature a good small overlap score after the XC90 and Q5 above, and is reflective of Volvo’s attention to detail with their flagship SUV. As with the Q5, I look forward to seeing the XC60 show up on a driver death rate study; Volvo will need to sell more of them for it to make an appearance. Given the appearance of the XC90 in the two most recent studies, I’m hopeful this means Volvo’s US car sales are on the upswing. Along with BMW, Mercedes, Subaru, and Audi, Volvo puts an awful lot of their research and development into safety technologies these days.

My full 3 across car seat guide to the XC60 is available here.

20 cm – 2015 Ford Edge.

The first brand new model of the list is the second entry by Ford, the Edge. Improving greatly upon the 9.0 cm of intrusion resistance of the previous generation of the Edge, the new Edge now boasts an impressive 20 cm of intrusion resistance.

The previous generation of the Edge (’07-’11) is also notable for containing the first US vehicle to make the zero list of driver deaths in the case of the ’07 4WD, although this would not stay the case. Strangely, the 4WD Edge would then go on to have a DDR of 41 in the ’08-’11 model years while the 2WD improved from its previous DDR of 20 to 14 in the ’08-’11 model years. I still have no idea why this occurred, and can only chalk it up to chance, which should always be kept in mind when reading the driver death rate lists, for good or for bad.

Interestingly, while the Ford Edge was originally a structural twin of the Lincoln MKX, the MKX was not restyled for the 2015 model year while the Edge was. As a result, the 20 cm of intrusion resistance in the 2015 Edge is not shared by the MKX, which remains the same as the ’07-’14 Edge / MKX.

My full 3 across car seat guide to the Edge is available here.

19.5 cm – 2013-2015 Ford Escape.

The third Ford entry on the list is also the first small SUV / crossover on the list, the Escape, with an impressive 19.5 cm of intrusion protection. Proving you don’t have to be a mid-sized SUV to offer a stellar amount of side-impact resistance, the current generation Escape is a dramatic improvement over the previous, which only offered 5.5-7.5 cm of intrusion protection. Unfortunately, the current generation Escape continues to be plagued by a “poor” small overlap score that Ford will need to pay attention to in order to make this SUV shine among the best in its class.

My full 3 across car seat guide to the Escape is available here.

19-20 cm – 2012-2015 Mercedes-Benz M-Class (e.g., ML 550).

Mercedes-Benz’ second entry on this list is the long-impressive M-Class SUV, which was tested twice by MB and yielded scores between 19 and 20 cm in side impact intrusion resistance. The M-Class is only the third SUV on this list to also feature a good small overlap score, along with the Q5 and XC60.

The previous generation of the M-Class had a very impressive driver death rate of 3 in the ’08-’11 4WD model years in the most recent study, which is almost as good as it gets. That model scored 15 cm on this measure, which would have kept it out of this top list, but which also indicates that it’s possible to have a very safe vehicle even if it doesn’t lead the list in side impact resistance.

My full 3 across car seat guide to the M-Class is available here.

18.5 cm – 2014-2015 Toyota Highlander.

The current generation Highlander follows what was already a very impressive previous generation in terms of side impact resistance. In fact, the previous ’08-’13 generation featured 17 cm of side impact intrusion resistance, the second highest figure of any vehicle on this list with a previous generation available for comparison. In fact, the hybrid 4WD ’08-’11 Highlander was one of the SUVs on the zero list in the most recent driver death rate study.

The regular 2WD Highlander scored a DDR of 7 while the regular 4WD scored a DDR of 14. All of those are good scores, by the way, but the goal is zero deaths, and the hybrid Highlander, or Hi-Hi, as they’re often known on online forums, got it. Furthermore, the current generation from ’13 onward now has an “acceptable” small overlap score. It’s worth noting, however, that the hybrid Highlander achieved its zero rating without that score.

My full 3 across car seat guide to the Highlander is available here.

18.5 cm – 2011-2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee. 

Tied with the Highlander is the current generation Jeep Grand Cherokee, representing the 4th US vehicle (after the Explorer, Edge, and Escape) on the top list. Closely related to the M-Class in its underbody, the Grand Cherokee is significantly cheaper and a significant step forward compared to previous iterations of the Grand Cherokee. This was reflected in its impressive driver death rate of 7 in the most recent study. The influence of MB is clear when one considers the fact that the previous generation of the JGC had an abysmal side protection figure of 2.5 cm.

Unfortunately, the JGC is still flagged by a “marginal” small overlap score for the ’13 model year and up, and this is an area Jeep will want to address to help bring this SUV to its full potential.

My full 3 across car seat guide to the JGC is available here.

18.5 cm  – 2013-2016 Mazda CX-5.

Rounding out the list is the current generation Mazda CX-5, which is also tied for 9th position with the Highlander and Grand Cherokee. The CX-5 is particularly impressive as the only other small SUV / crossover on the best-of-the-best list aside from the Ford Escape. Furthermore, unlike the Escape, it has a “good” small overlap score, and has had one since the ’14 model year. In fact, of the 11 SUVs on this list, fewer than half (4) including the CX-5, Q5, XC60, and M-Class feature good small overlap scores at this time. That’s an article waiting to be written on another day, of course, regarding the best vehicles for surviving small overlap collisions.

As with several other vehicles on this list, I look forward to seeing the CX-5 show up on a driver death rate study; Mazda will need to sell more of them for it to make an appearance.

My full 3 across car seat guide to the CX-5 is available here.

More broadly, the presence of multiple Fords, Volvos, and Mercedes-Benz models in the top 12 list of intrusion-resistance SUVs and crossovers is clear evidence of the current commitment to safety in these companies, and will surely bring good feelings to anyone buying a recent model-year vehicle from either of those brands. I wrote this about Mercedes-Benz, Subaru, and Chrysler in the equivalent list about cars, and have to say that I’m pleasantly surprised to see a range of auto-makers stepping up to the plate in designing safe vehicles across their fleets.

How to choose an SUV or crossover to keep you safe in side impact crashes

In conclusion, there are an awful lot of strong candidates right now in the US SUV and crossover market when it comes to side impact protection. I cut the list off where I did because there were so many contenders that it would have gone on for much longer, and my goal was simply to show the best of the best.

There are a number of other great vehicles that I didn’t include on the list to save time that were literally only a centimeter or two away from appearing on the list. Other strong contenders include the 2013-2015 BMW X1 at 18 cm, the 2015 Lincoln MKC at 18 cm, the 2014-2015 Jeep Cherokee at 17.5 cm, and the 2007-2015 GMC Acadia, Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave, and Saturn Outlook at 17.5 cm.

The takeaway message here is the same as it was in the other lists: it’s worth looking beyond the overall “good” score and diving into the structural integrity subscore when searching for safe cars for this particular kind of crash. Of course, you’ll start with looking for airbags and the overall “good” score, but beyond that, if you’re choosing between two vehicles that seem good on paper, dive into this subscore and you might be surprised at what you find. And remember that just because an SUV isn’t anywhere near the top numbers on this list doesn’t mean it’s not safe. There are several SUVs that showed up on the most recent zero list that didn’t show up on this list, including the previous generation Kia Sorento, which had an intrusion score of 8.5 cm, the previous generation Lexus RX 350 , which had a score of 17.5 cm, and the previous generation Volvo XC90, which had a score of 9.5 cm. No drivers died in any of these three SUVs in the last driver death rate study, but none of them were even close to this list (with the exception of the RX) in that intrusion figure. There were also two SUVs on the zero list (i.e., the Toyota Sequoia and Mercedes-Benz GL-Class) that didn’t show up here simply because I don’t yet have access to their intrusion resistance figures.

We can’t control everything. The safest option is still not driving at all, followed by driving as little as possible. But if you’ve got to drive, drive safely, and do your best to choose a safe vehicle. To that end, my safe family vehicle analyses for cars and SUVs are worth reading.

I loved writing this article, and I hope you enjoyed reading it. I look forward to writing more articles examining various factors in car safety design and how they relate to keeping you and your loved ones safer while on the road. Stay tuned, remember to avoid common mistakes parents make with car seats, and check out some 3 across car seat guides while you’re here.

If you find the information on car safety, recommended car seats, and car seat reviews on this car seat blog helpful, you can shop through this Amazon link for any purchases, car seat-related or not. Canadians can shop through this link for Canadian purchases.