Revisions to the best-selling Toyota Camry have improved its NHTSA safety rating from three out of five stars to four out of five, bringing it up to par -- but not to the top -- of its class.
Meanwhile, the Honda Odyssey minivan became Honda's second five-star product, after the Accord sedan. That outranks the four-star Toyota Sienna; competitors from Chrysler, Kia, and Nissan have not yet been tested.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's safety ratings are based on the performance in a frontal crash test, two side tests, and a rollover-resistence evaluation.
A series of other popular cars and SUVs with newly released results the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's crash tests earned four out of five stars, including the Kia Forte and Volkswagen Jetta compact sedans, the Ford Fusion midsize sedan, and the Subaru Forester and Toyota Highlander and Venza SUVs.
The Dodge Caliber, a compact hatchback, earned a rating of three out of five stars. The Nissan Versa economy car -- tested last fall -- remains the only vehicle to fall below that rating with a two-star score, though relatively few models have so far been evaluated.
The NHTSA overall rating cannot be compared against classes because the frontal test easier on lighter cars, because it simulates striking a car of the same weight. Rollover and side-impact ratings are comparable among vehicles of all weight. Ratings of 2011-model cars are incompatible with crash test scores from 2010-model and older vehicles, which were subjected to different crash tests and scored differently; it was easier to achieve a five-star score under the old procedures.
The full list of 2011 models that NHTSA has tested so far appears below, listed alphabetically by class. Vehicles marked with an asterisk demonstrated a safety issue that isn't factored into the NHTSA rating. For car-by-car details, photos and videos, visit NHTSA's website.
SMALL CARS
-Chevrolet Cruze: 5/5
-Dodge Caliber: 3/5
-Ford Fiesta: 4/5*
-Honda Civic: 3/5
-Honda CR-Z: 3/5
-Kia Forte: 4/5*
-Mazda3: 4/5*
-Nissan Sentra: 4/5
-Nissan Versa: 2/5
-Volkswagen Jetta: 4/5
MIDSIZE CARS
-Chevrolet Malibu: 4/5
-Ford Fusion / Lincoln MKZ: 4/5
-Honda Accord sedan: 5/5
-Hyundai Sonata: 5/5
-Nissan Altima sedan: 4/5
-Subaru Legacy: 4/5
-Toyota Camry: 4/5
LARGE CARS:
-Buick Lucerne: 3/5
-Ford Taurus: 4/5
LUXURY CARS:
-Audi A4/S4: 4/5
-BMW 5-Series: 5/5
-Infiniti M: 4/5
-Mercedes-Benz C-Class: 4/5
SUVS:
-Acura MDX: 5/5*
-Chevrolet Equinox / GMC Terrain: 4/5
-Chevrolet Tahoe / Cadillac Escalade / GMC Yukon: 4/5
-Chevrolet Traverse / Buick Enclave / GMC Acadia: 5/5
-Honda CR-V: 4/5
-Honda Pilot: 4/5
-Jeep Grand Cherokee: 4/5
-Kia Sorento: 4/5
-Kia Soul: 4/5
-Lexus RX350: 4/5
-Subaru Forester: 4/5
-Subaru Outback: 4/5
-Toyota Highlander: 4/5
-Toyota RAV4: 3/5
-Toyota Venza: 4/5
VANS:
-Honda Odyssey: 5/5
-Toyota Sienna: 4/5
PICKUPS:
-Chevrolet Silverado / GMC Sierra extended cab: 4/5
-Chevrolet Silverado / GMC Sierra crew cab: 5/5
-Ram Pickup extended cab: 3/5*
-Ram Pickup crew cab: 3/5*
-Toyota Tacoma crew cab: 4/5
*This vehicle demonstrated a safety flaw that fell outside the specific parameters of the NHTSA rating procedure.
SEE ALSO:
Full NHTSA crash-test details, photos and videos
NHTSA describes its crash test procedure (PDF)
IIHS crash-test ratings
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