Six New SUVs Fail Bumper Tests

Six out of seven new midsize sport-utility vehicles fared poorly because of weak bumpers in
slow-speed crash tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The
crash tests measure how SUVs fare in a series of four different front- and rear-end
collisions at 5 mph. Among the seven, only the Acura MDX scored high marks, and the IIHS
called them “the best bumpers of any midsize SUV” it had ever tested. Getting the lowest
score was Suzuki’s Grand Vitara XL-7, which had nearly $6,000 in damages in the crash
tests, compared with a total of less than $1,800 for the MDX. Second in the
worst-performing category was the Buick Rendezvous, which had nearly $5,600 in damages in
the crash tests. Pontiac’s Aztek and the 2002 Chevrolet TrailBlazer were two other GM
vehicles criticized by the IIHS for their bumper performances. Rounding out the bumper
tests were Toyota’s Highlander and the Isuzu Axiom.