Three Minivans Get Poor Safety Rating

Minivan
Chrysler Town & Country minivan

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety finds minivans lacking proper crash protection.

While minivans are considered some of the safest vehicles on the road, three minivans were just rated poor, the lowest rating by The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The Nissan Quest, Chrysler Town & Country, and Dodge Grand Caravan (which is being dropped from the Dodge lineup) all earned the low rating for the small overlap front crash test.

The small overlap front crash test mimics an accident where the minivan hits another vehicle or a tree or light pole. The New York Times notes that this test is particularly difficult for minivans to pass, since “they are usually built on car platforms but are much wider than cars…so more of the front of the vehicle is beyond the main crash-absorbing structure.’”

The Honda Odyssey, which is rated good, received the highest rating of any minivan when it was tested last year. But earlier model years of the Odyssey were recalled earlier this year.

Judy Antell
Judy Antell

Judy Antell, who is TravelingMom.com's Free in 50 States editor, lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with her husband and three daughters. Between road trips to visit colleges, travel sports and seeing East Coast sights, she spends a lot of time on the road for a city girl.

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