Minivans rate marginal, poor in new crash tests - IIHS news

IIHS news release • September 19, 2023

Minivans don’t make the grade when it comes to rear-seat safety

Popular with parents, minivans ought to boast the safest second-row seating on the market.
Instead, they’re lagging behind.

None of the four minivans tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety earns an acceptable or good rating in the updated moderate overlap front crash test, which now emphasizes back seat safety. The Chrysler Pacifica, Kia Carnival and Toyota Sienna are rated marginal, while the Honda Odyssey is rated poor.

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[barbz_zayne]

it's crazy how the curtain airbags didn't deploy in the pacifica and the headrest flew off in the odyssey

[banstaman]

I find it interesting that the Sienna was the only one with a submarining issue despite being the only one with seatbelt pre-tensioners.

[stygianhoplite]

I cherish the iihs, they keep car manufacturers awake at night lmao

[Wasabi]

Thank you for the test. As a minivan driver frequently carrying passengers in all 3 rows, it would be great if you had also included 3rd passengers in your test. This is making me rethink if minivans are the safest for my family and if there are other safer 3 row alternatives.

[MBG]

Now I want to see them test the Full-size SUVs like the Tahoe, Suburban, Expedition, etc. Aka, "The Boxy Minivans"

[crashcore_cc]

It’s disappointing that no minivan, the vehicle category that is most designed to carry rear passengers, has top rear-seat safety.

[onesr]

Honda dissapointing yet again with the rear seats.

[atomikrobot]

Thank you for the important work you and the team to do improve vehicle safety! Your work is very appreciated!

[RexJoestar]

Thank you IIHS. Please update this test for the third row as well!

[spoutingfiction]

Great work! We need actual rollover, rear passenger, rear impact, and submergence (water) testing. Also, has there been thought into additional EV testing where the battery pack is pierced, submerged, etc? This is important because of where the fire occurs in relation to passenger seating (vs engines in the front of the car). These types of tests could further enhance the design of EV vehicles (firewall placement, etc)

[InvisibleMinority]

Great work, thank you IIHS. Now in addition to minivans being updated, automakers have to start actually producing them again in volume. They're just about impossible to find today.

[KoreaGuide]

Carnival hybrid 2024 crash test where can I see it?

[fredlee]

Of the 51 IIHS Top Safety Pick+ vehicles (read: the gold standard of IIHS safety) - only 12 were re-tested using the updated test, and 8 of those re-tested dropped from Good to Marginal or Poor. Singling out minivans here is VERY misleading as this is an issue that needs to be addressed across the board.

[Jrjrjrjrjrjrj]

So the automakers will come in and fix the seatbelts for just the 2nd row outboard seats while ignoring the center seat and 3rd row. @iihs hold them accountable for ALL seating positions.

[HOON]

The 2022-2023 Ford Explorer, 2021-2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E, 2022-2023 Subaru Ascent, and 2022-2023 Tesla Model Y all received a "good" rating for rear seat occupants. None of these match the capacity and convenience of a minivan, but the Explorer and the Ascent get the closest.

[MrYour]

Will the IIHS conduct a crash test with Battery EVs against ICE vehicles to analyse the impact of different weight classes? There's so much more kinetic energy in BEVs

[daniels]

I was already never going to buy a minivan but this is just icing on the cake.

[onesr]

This is proof that carmakers don't actually care about us. They'll do just enough to get high rating in tests, but will never go beyond that for our safety.

[elineapetung]

I thought minivans were gonna be good or acceptable in the the updated moderate overlap because they are "Family cars" i was like "ooh minivans were going to do well because they are family cars!" I dont know why i thought that it was kinda stupid

[iflareman]

Just wait for small cars like the Nissan versa, Mitsubishi mirage, and Kia rio.