Choosing a new vehicle involves many considerations, and safety is paramount for most drivers. Resources like Car and Driver are invaluable when trying to compare vehicles, especially regarding safety features and ratings. Understanding how these ratings are determined and what they truly mean can empower you to make informed decisions. One crucial aspect is the Overall Vehicle Score, often presented as a star rating, which aims to summarize a vehicle’s safety performance in various crash scenarios.
Decoding the Overall Vehicle Score: What Do the Stars Mean?
The Overall Vehicle Score is designed to provide a quick, at-a-glance assessment of a vehicle’s safety. This score, represented by stars, isn’t just pulled from thin air. It’s a carefully calculated metric based on rigorous testing and statistical analysis. The star ratings break down as follows:
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: This vehicle offers an overall injury risk that is much less than average. It represents the highest level of safety performance.
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐: Indicates an overall injury risk that is less than average to average. Still a very good safety rating, suggesting above-average protection.
- ⭐⭐⭐: Suggests an overall injury risk that is average to greater than average. This is in the middle range, implying a moderate level of safety.
- ⭐⭐: Signals an overall injury risk that is greater than average. This rating indicates a lower level of safety compared to the average vehicle.
- ⭐: The lowest rating, meaning the vehicle presents an overall injury risk that is much greater than average. This suggests significantly lower safety performance.
This Overall Vehicle Score is not a simple average of all tests. It’s derived from probabilities of injury determined in frontal and side crash tests, combined with a projected probability of injury based on rollover resistance ratings. Importantly, these values are weighted. This weighting reflects the real-world proportions of injuries associated with each type of crash, making the overall score a more realistic representation of safety in typical accidents. The final result is then compared to the average injury risk across the entire vehicle fleet to determine if a vehicle is safer or less safe than the norm.
Comparing Vehicles Safely: Class and Weight Limitations
While the Overall Vehicle Score is a useful tool, it’s crucial to understand its limitations, especially when using resources like Car and Driver to compare vehicles. A key rule to remember is that Overall Vehicle Scores are only directly comparable between vehicles within the same class and with similar weights.
The safety rating system acknowledges that different types of vehicles have inherent structural differences and are designed to protect occupants in varying ways. Therefore, direct comparisons are only valid when vehicles are in the same class and their weights are within a 250-pound range of each other.
Let’s look at some examples to clarify permissible and impermissible comparisons when you Car And Driver Compare Vehicles:
- Incorrect Comparison: Comparing a 4,500-pound SUV to a 3,000-pound sedan. This is invalid because they are in different vehicle classes (SUV vs. sedan) and the weight difference exceeds 250 pounds.
- Incorrect Comparison: Comparing a 3,600-pound pickup truck to a 3,400-pound minivan. Even though the weight difference is within the 250-pound limit, these are different vehicle classes (pickup vs. van), making a direct safety score comparison misleading.
- Correct Comparison: Comparing a 3,400-pound passenger car to a 3,650-pound passenger car. This is a valid comparison because they are in the same vehicle class (passenger car) and the weight difference (250 pounds) is within the acceptable range.
When you car and driver compare vehicles, always ensure you are comparing vehicles of similar type and size. Focusing on vehicles within the same class and weight range will provide a more accurate and meaningful understanding of their relative safety performance based on the Overall Vehicle Score. This nuanced approach to safety ratings will help you use resources like Car and Driver effectively to choose a vehicle that best meets your safety needs.
