2018 Subaru Outback and Legacy Ace New IIHS Passenger Crash Test

The 2018 Subaru Outback and Legacy models earn the highest safety rating in a new passenger crash test. How do they protect the front passenger?

Subaru continues to excel when it comes to having the safest vehicles in America. Subaru announced today, two of their vehicles, aced a new passenger crash test. The 2018 Outback wagon and 2018 Legacy sedan both earned the highest possible rating of “Good” from the Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for a new passenger crash test.

The new IIHS side small overlap crash test sends a vehicle into a barrier at 40 mph with 25 percent of the vehicle’s front end overlapping the barrier on the passenger side. This is a common accident that occurs when the front passenger-side corner of a vehicle collides with another vehicle or with an obstacle such as a tree or utility pole.

The 2018 Outback participated in the first test group that included 13 midsize cars and was one of the top performers according to IIHS. The Outback’s “Good” passenger-side rating also applies to the 2018 Legacy. IIHS recorded the crash in the video below and a senior engineer explains the testing.

How do the vehicles protect passengers?

Becky Mueller, IIHS Senior Research Engineer for IIHS says, “In the test of the Outback, the passenger’s space was maintained well, with maximum intrusion of 4 inches at the right edge of the toe pan.” She goes on to say, “The safety belt and front and side curtain airbags worked together to keep the (crash test) dummy in place, and measures taken from the dummy showed there would be a low risk of injury in a similar real-world crash.”

It’s interesting that Outback and Legacy have not been updated with the new Subaru Global Platform, that’s been getting the highest safety marks with Impreza and Crosstrek, and they still ace the new test. The new IIHS passenger crash test will be added to the crashworthiness evaluations for the 2018 TOP SAFETY PICK+ award.

Check out the IIHS video below as Becky Mueller talks about the new passenger crash testing. Pay particular attention to the 1:10 mark and see how the 2018 Subaru Outback performs.

Photo credit: Subaru