No Pony Cars Awarded as a Top Safety Pick
The iconic trio of muscle cars has been subjected to crash tests and the results aren’t ideal.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has evaluated the 2016 Dodge Challenger, 2016 Ford Mustang and 2016 Chevrolet Camaro for their crashworthiness and none of them were able to get a Top Safety Pick designation. The agency typically doesn’t test sports cars, but it tested these three models with V8 engines because they are higher volume sellers in their class.
The results show that the Challenger is in need of the most improvement, while the Mustang came the closest to getting the coveted Top Safety Pick award, and the Camaro fell short in one category.
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To get the Top Safety Pick designation, cars must get good ratings in the small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests as well as some sort of basic front collision avoidance system (like a warning system). To get the Top Safety Pick+ designation, the car must get a good rating in all five tests and have an advance crash mitigation system (like automatic emergency braking).
All three pony cars earned good ratings for the occupant protection, side impact and moderate overlap front crash. In the newest and toughest test, the small overlap front test that simulates when a car hits a tree or pole or clips an oncoming car, the Camaro earned a good rating, the Mustang was acceptable and the Challenger got a marginal rating.
See how the trio scored in each test below:
Jodi has been obsessed with cars since she was little and has been an automotive journalist for the past 12 years. She has a Bachelor of Journalism from Ryerson University in Toronto, is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), and a jury member for the prestigious North American Car/Truck/Utility Vehicle of the Year (NACTOY). Besides hosting videos, and writing news, reviews and features, Jodi is the Editor-in-Chief of AutoGuide.com and takes care of the site's day-to-day operations.
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Chryslerfan, not sure how old you are, but back in "the days" - Camaros, Cudas, Challengers, Mustangs, AMX's, etc. were in a size class referred to as Pony Cars. So today's Challenger, Mustang, & Camaros are indeed Pony cars. Noe: they are well engineered, & they are not really cheap & crap. Go dream about your Toyotas & Hondas in some other import forum.
Does anyone buy any of these cars and (even remotely) consider the safety rating?