In the US, new roof strength laws are being passed that will make sure that all cars meet a certain minimum level of strength, which will protect occupants in rollovers. However, these laws are still in the process of being created and passed, but the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has gone ahead and started grading cars based on their own standard.
A good rating is strength-to-weight ratio of 4+. Acceptable is 3.25-4, and marginal is 2.5-3.25.
The following scores were measured on small SUV’s:
Volkswagen Tiguan Good
Subaru Forester Good
Honda Element Good
Jeep Patriot Good
Suzuki Grand Vitara Acceptable
Chevrolet Equinox Acceptable
Pontiac Torrent Acceptable
Toyota RAV4 Acceptable
Nissan Rogue Acceptable
Mitsubishi Outlander Acceptable
Honda CR-V Marginal
Ford Escape Marginal
Mazda Tribute Marginal
Mercury Mariner Marginal
Kia Sportage Poor
Hyundai Tucson Poor
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