Mazda has announced that three of its vehicles have been named as “2016 Top Safety Pick+” recipients by the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The 2016 Mazda CX-5 compact crossover, Mazda3 compact sedan and five-door and Mazda6 midsize sedan each provide class-leading safety protection, according to the IIHS.
In IIHS testing, vehicles are subjected to a gauntlet of rollover and collision tests—the small-overlap front crash test being one of the latest and one of the most stringent. The IIHS notes that approximately 25% of traffic fatalities occur in small-overlap crashes, which put more force onto a smaller piece of the car’s structure than other current frontal-collision tests.
To attain Top Safety Pick+ honors, a vehicle must earn the highest rating of “Good” for 2016 in 5 body-structure categories, including small-overlap crash-testing, and have an advanced rating in available collision-prevention technologies like automatic braking—a new requirement in this year’s evaluations.
“We pride ourselves on the engineering that went into making our vehicles among the lightest and most efficient in their segments, but our SkyActiv Technology has also helped us design and build some of the safest vehicles on the road as well,” said Jim O’Sullivan, president and CEO, MNAO. “It means a lot that Mazda vehicles are stylish and fun to drive. It means much more that we don’t have to sacrifice any of that style for the safety features that help keep Mazda drivers and passengers safe.”
In the U.S, Mazda CX-5, Mazda3 and Mazda6 are available with advanced safety technologies as part of a full suite called i-Activesense.
i-Activesense includes Mazda Radar Cruise Control (MRCC), Smart City Brake Support (SCBS) for low-speed braking, Smart Brake Support for highway-speed braking, and, in select vehicles, Advanced Blind Spot Monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert, among other features.
