New side and front impact test results for SUVs...

[Crotalus]

News release Today by the Insurance Institute for Highway safety:

IIHS news release

The Nissan Murano earned the top safety designation for side and frontal crash safety. However, most here would be interested to know that:

"The Jeep Liberty, Jeep Wrangler 4-door, and Kia Sorento, all 2008 models, are the worst performers in the side test. The Liberty, also sold as the Dodge Nitro, and Wrangler earn the second lowest rating of marginal for protection in side crashes. The Sorento earns the lowest rating of poor."

...and that:

"Hummer isn't good in frontal crash: Nearly every vehicle the Institute tests now earns the top rating of good for frontal crash protection. This wasn't the case for the Hummer H3, which earns an acceptable rating. The H3 is 1 of only 2 midsize SUV designs the Institute has recently tested that doesn't earn a good rating in the frontal test (the other is the Chevrolet TrailBlazer)."

In fairness, I didn't see that the FJ was tested.

[BobKid]

That test group was only 4 door SUVs, so the FJ wasn't part of the target group.

[doublejfj]

Forget IIHS, you should be looking here:
NTHSA 2008 FJ Cruiser Data

Even includes videos! Watch in slow-mo!

[JMH FJC TRD]

doublejfj previously said:

Forget IIHS, you should be looking here:
NTHSA 2008 FJ Cruiser Data

Even includes videos! Watch in slow-mo!

GREAT find in reference to the 2008 FJ Cruiser. Thank-You!

[tibaal89]

doublejfj previously said:

Forget IIHS, you should be looking here:
NTHSA 2008 FJ Cruiser Data

Even includes videos! Watch in slow-mo!

Hey cool!!! That answers the age-old question as to where the center of gravity is...

The Static Stability Factor (SSF) of a vehicle is an at-rest calculation of its rollover resistance based on its most important geometric properties. SSF is a measure of how top-heavy a vehicle is.

A vehicle's SSF is calculated using the formula SSF=T/2H, where T is the "track width" of the vehicle and H is the "height of the center of gravity" of the vehicle. The track width is the distance between the centers of the right and left tires along the axle. The location of the center of gravity is measured in a laboratory to determine the height above the ground of the vehicle's mass. The lower the SSF number, the more likely the vehicle is to roll over in a single-vehicle crash.

So, the FJ's track is about 63" and they give it an SSF of 1.11... which means the COG is about 28" off the ground.

[Kathrine]

I'm glad the Nissan Murano is safe for all of those soccer moms and the children they're playing taxi to.

Pretty interesting find.

[Archy Chris]

JMH FJC TRD previously said:

GREAT find in reference to the 2008 FJ Cruiser. Thank-You!

Thanks for sharing.

[JAXTOY]

Amazing, 5 star rating for side impact without side impact airbags.