Four Nissan, Toyota SUVs Offer Lackluster Rollover Protection

[Omaha Steve]

My daughter just traded her Pathfinder a couple months ago. Her husband sold Nissans for a couple years.

http://www.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1048480_four-nissan-toyota-suvs-offer-lackluster-rollover-protection

By Bengt Halvorson Deputy Editor August 19th, 2010

Several popular mid-size SUVs from Nissan and Toyota—the 2010 Nissan Xterra, Toyota FJ Cruiser, Toyota 4Runner, and Nissan Pathfinder—have earned only lackluster rollover ratings in the latest round of testing from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).


2010 Nissan Pathfinder

But these ratings, just released from insurance-funded testing authority, don't say anything about the vehicles' propensity to roll over (unlike those from the federal government); rather, they gauge the likelihood of serious injury and the amount of structural protection that a vehicle will provide in the event of a rollover.

In the IIHS rollover (roof crush) test, a metal plate presses against a particular area of the roof that's crucial for resisting rollover injuries, and the peak force is measured before deforming five inches. That's then represented as a ratio to the vehicle's weight. In order to earn a top 'good' score in the IIHS test, a vehicle needs to achieve a strength-to-weight ratio of at least 4.0. Current federal standards require a ratio of 1.5, but a new standard to be phased in by 2016 will require twice that.


2010 Toyota 4Runner Trail

Overall, the 2010 Nissan Xterra, Toyota FJ Cruiser, and Toyota 4Runner earned 'acceptable ratings

The 4Runner was the best in this bunch, able to withstand 3.87 times its weight; the Toyota FJ Cruiser took 3.47 times its weight, while the Xterra managed 3.28.

FULL story at link.

[HopeHoops]

1. I'e always called it the "4 Skin".

:evilgrin: