Detroit’s trio of muscle cars may be at the top of their game when it comes to performance, but none of them excelled in new crash tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
The 2016MY versions of the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger failed to clinch a Top Safety Pick Plus or even a Top Safety Pick award, with the Challenger being the worst performer. Since all three cars are big sellers in their class, the IIHS engineers decided to evaluate them with optional V8 engines.
The closest to earning a Top Safety Pick was the Mustang, with the Camaro falling short in one category, lacking an available front crash prevention system while also having a lower rating for roof strength, and the Challenger was the “most in need of improvement”, according to the IIHS.
In the small-front overlap test, which shows what happens when the front quarter of the vehicle hits a parked car, tree or utility pole at 40 mph (64 km/h), revealed a ‘Good’ rating for the Camaro, an ‘Acceptable’ one for the Mustang and a ‘Marginal’ performance for the Challenger. The roof strength was noted as ‘Good’ in the Mustang and ‘Acceptable’ in the other two and the moderate overlap front test saw all three ranked as Good.
“Given that sports cars have high crash rates, it’s especially important that they offer the best occupant protection possible in a crash,” commented Adrian Lund, IIHS president.
“The Mustang is just one good rating away from earning Top Safety Pick. Its small overlap rating holds it back. The Camaro’s safety cage is built to resist intrusion in a small overlap crash, and that’s good news for Camaro drivers,” Lund explained.
As for Dodge’s older Challenger which is still based on the same platform since the nameplate’s resurrection in 2008, Lund said: “During the crash, the Challenger’s front wheel was forced rearward into the occupant compartment, and the footwell intrusion trapped the dummy’s left foot and deformed its ankle. Our technicians had to unbolt the dummy’s foot from its leg in order to free it. Entrapment is pretty rare. That’s only happened five other times in a small overlap test.”
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