Saab, Volvo best in first-ever IIHS convertible crash tests

For the first time, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has tested 10 convertibles and found five that offer good crash protection.

The Saab 9-3 and Volvo C70 earned the Institute's highest Top Safety Pick award. And the Chrysler Sebring, Mitsubishi Eclipse, and Volkswagen Eos all earned Good scores in both front- and side-crash tests. The Ford Mustang and Toyota Camry Solara earned Good or Acceptable scores in both front- and side-crash tests.

IIHS rates vehicles on a scale of Good, Acceptable, Marginal, or Poor. The BMW 3 Series, Audi A4, and Pontiac G6 convertibles had marginal scores in the side-crash test.

Side-crash protection is challenging in a convertible. Most Good-rated, hard-top cars use a curtain head-protection and/or side air bag combination. The Volvo is the only convertible here to use a curtain air bag, although the Volkswagen side air bag (shown) did reduce the risk of significant driver injury.

The IIHS side-crash test mimics the front of a midsized SUV striking the side of the car at 35 mph. The front test simulates two vehicles each traveling 40 mph striking head-on with only the center and driver's side of the vehicle making contact, as happens in many real-world accidents.

The Institute also rates vehicles for their whiplash protection in rear crashes. Only the Saab and the Volvo achieved Good rear-crash scores. The Mitsubishi Eclipse, Pontiac G6, and Volkswagen Eos were Marginal. All others were Poor.

Rollover protection is also important in convertibles, and five of the cars -- the Audi, BMW, Saab, Volvo, and Volkswagen -- have both standard roll bars and electronic stability control. Electronic stability control has been shown to reduce deaths in single car accidents by 56 percent by reducing the likelihood that the vehicle will roll over. Stability control is optional on the Chrysler Sebring, Pontiac G6, and Toyota Solara, but not available on the Ford Mustang and Mitsubishi Eclipse.

Of these convertibles, we have only tested the Mustang and the Solara. We continue to recommend the Solara, but we do not recommend the Mustang because of its below-average reliability.  Look for a test of the new hard-top convertible models (Chrysler Sebring, Pontiac G6, Volkswagen Eos, and Volvo C70), as well as the Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder, sometime next year.

To see how other models have performed in IIHS evaluations, select from crash test videos on more than 150 models.

--Eric Evarts