The Most Dangerous Cars Crash Test Results

A dangerous car, by definition, is a vehicle that you don't want to let your kids drive, but the cars that qualify for this particular distinction are far from uncommon. The IIHS regularly publishes crash test results, often with the focus on the best performing vehicles. What you don't hear much about is the vehicles that came in dead last in their testing. Potentially deadly vehicles have the dubious distinction of receiving poor ratings on two of the three categories that the IIHS crash tests vehicles on. The three categories are Frontal offset, side impact, and rear. In some cases, vehicles are tested for their rollover protection, but then that would leave the list populated almost entirely with convertibles. While many of these vehicles are relatively inexpensive, it must be noted that there are vehicles in production today that are competitively priced, but that fared much better in crash testing than did these unsafe cars.

Kia Rio/Hyundai Accent

The Kia Rio and its sibling the Hyundai Accent have fared poorly in crash test results throughout their production run, leading one Automotive journalist to dub them the "Hyundai Accident." While these unsafe cars scored an "acceptable" rating in frontal offset crash results, bot the side and rear crash results were "poor." While these vehicles are some of the most affordable used cars you can turn up at a car dealership, and will usually be available with lower mileage, you would do well to reconsider the purchase of one of these unsafe cars, particularly for inexperienced drivers.

Suzuki Forenza

Like the Rio and Accent, the Suzuki Forenza did relatively well in frontal offset crash testing, but received "poor" marks for its rear and side impact testing. The Forenza has sibling vehicles in the Chevrolet Optra, a European-market vehicle that did equally as well in similar tests. The Forenza is less commonly seen at used-car dealers, but when it is seen, its price is usually fairly low.

Saab 9-7X/Chevrolet TrailBlazer/GMC Envoy

The Trailblazer, Envoy and Saab 9-7X aren't inexpensive cars on used car lots, making their inclusion in a poorest-performing list almost incongruous. These vehicles exemplify the fact that just having a large vehicle doesn't automatically mean that you'll be safe in the event of an accident. The "poor" side impact rating is given to these vehicles because, in spite of their being equipped with side-curtain airbags, the IIHS found that the potential for serious internal injuries could result from a normal side-impact crash. In testing videos, the dummy's head is thrown forcefully toward, and then away from the side of the vehicle where the crash occurred. While this vehicle performed with an "Acceptable" front impact rating and a "Marginal" rear impact rating, you may find yourself better off in the event of an accident driving a considerably smaller vehicle.

While some of the most expensive used cars on the market are also the safest, it is critically important to look at how unsafe the least expensive vehicles are before you make your purchase. You might find it more worthwhile to save up a bit and get a car that has fared better in crash testing than any of these.

Sources:
IIHS.com: Vehicle Ratings: http://www.iihs.org/ratings/default.aspx
Motor Trend.com: The Top 10 Cars You Do NOT want to Crash; Andrew Strieber; 2008
http://wot.motortrend.com/the-top-10-cars-you-do-not-want-to-crash-1618.html