Based on new rollover test results, nine vehicles have been named 2010 Top Safety Picks following a new round of tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Based on results from new rollover tests, the 2010 Audi A4 and Audio Q5, 2010 Ford Flex and Ford Fusion, 2010 Hyundai Tucson, Lincoln MKT and Lincoln MKZ, and the 2010 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen (Golf Wagon in Canada), all earned the Institute’s highest safety rating.  The ninth vehicle, the 2010 Mercury Milan, is not sold in Canada. To earn a Top Safety Pick, vehicles had to earn a rating of “Good” in the Institute’s 40- mph frontal offset crash test; the 35-mph SUV side-impact test; a rear head restraint configuration analysis, and a new roof-strength test.  IIHS rates vehicles in all four tests on a scale of Good, Acceptable, Marginal, and Poor.

To earn a rating of “Good” in the new roof-strength test, a vehicle must have a strength-to-weight ratio (SWR) of 4:1 or better. Meaning the roof would withstand a force equal to at least four times the vehicle’s weight without deforming more than five inches. The Top Safety Picks achieved the following SWR ratings:

• 2010 Audi A4: 4.60
• 2010 Audi Q5: 4.41
• 2010 Ford Flex: 4.51 (built after January 2010)
• 2010 Ford Fusion: 4.78 (built after April 2010)
• 2010 Hyundai Tucson: 4.43
• 2010 Lincoln MKT: 4.29 (built after March 2010)
• 2010 Lincoln MKZ: 4.78 (built after April 2010)
• 2010 Volkswagen Jetta (Golf Wagon in Canada): 5.13

Note: Ford recently modified and strengthened the roof structure of the 2010 Flex, Fusion, and MKT/MKZ models.  The award ratings apply only to Flex models built after January 2010, MKTs built after March 2010, MKZ built after April 2010 and Ford Fusions built after April 2010.

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