Nearly half the 28 SUVs and pickups the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration tested under its new dynamic rollover maneuvers earned four out of five stars, and another nine were given three stars.

In NHTSA’s recent SUV rollover test, a number of vehicles displayed a low chance of rolling over, contrary to previous ratings and perceptions. Two out of the four international-nameplate SUVs tested—the Volvo XC90 and the Subaru Outback—received four out of five stars, meaning that they had only a 10% to 20% chance of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash. None of the SUVs tested received five stars or one star, and only one SUV made by a Detroit manufacturer received two out of five stars. NHTSA also tested sedans and pickups. The results “indicate that widely promoted hysteria over SUV rollover risks is overblown and misplaced,” said Barry McCahill, president of the SUV Owners of America club.

The surprising first results of a new federal safety test suggest that SUVs are no more prone to roll over in crashes than other vehicles. SUVs scored as well or better than a compact station wagon and several pickups also tested by NHTSA. None of the SUVs scored the highest five-star rating, but many earned four stars, meaning they have a 10% to 20% percent chance of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.

For years, auto-safety advocates have said that SUVs are at a higher risk for rollover. Their arguments mounted in 2000 when Bridgestone/Firestone and Ford Motor Co. began recalling tires because they could lose tread. The tire recall led to a new law requiring that, among other things, NHTSA begin rollover testing with 2004 models.

NHTSA had been using a mathematical calculation to rate vehicles on rollover propensity, but the new test involves actually driving the vehicles. In the test, after the vehicle is accelerated to between 35 and 50 mph, a mechanical device sharply turns the steering wheel 270 degrees to the left, then 540 degrees to the right. The sharp right turn, simulating a driver’s attempt to correct, is the most likely maneuver to cause the vehicle to roll over. With two stars, the Ford Explorer Sport Trac model, equipped with two-wheel drive, was the lowest-rated vehicle in the first batch of tests.

GM’s Chevrolet TrailBlazer four-wheel drive, the Volvo XC90 four-wheel drive, Toyota’s Echo small car and eight other cars and trucks won four-star ratings, the second-best rating. That means that 11 of 28 vehicles tested, or more than one-third (39.3%), reached that level of safety.

Initially, auto-safety advocates praised the new test. But after the ratings were released, Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen, a consumer-advocacy group, said the results could be misleading.

“Two stars may be interpreted as a good or safe rating. However, a vehicle that receives two stars has a 30% to 40% chance of rolling over in an emergency maneuver,” she said.

Claybrook says that Congress and federal regulators should require stronger roofs, side-head air bags, safety belts that tighten during a rollover and improved side-window glazing to better protect occupants in a rollover.

Source: SEMA Research and Information Center (RIC)