2015 Acura TLX takes top safety honors in segment

With this year’s qualifying contingencies closely tied to active electronic accident avoidance, Acura TLX earns 2015 IIHS Top Safety Pick + rating; here’s why.

The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety(IIHS)swings a big bat in the automotive industry. IIHS stringent crash test results and subsequent ratings often influence the purchase decision of safety conscious consumers. For 2015, Honda cars and light trucks take 9 awards in the “Top Safety Pick” and “Top Safety Pick +” categories.

Tuesday’s news revealed the latest recipients of the IIHS Top Safety Pick + rating recipients; Acura received 3 ffor MDX SUV, RLX flagship sedan and TLX in the midsize luxury sport sedan category. You may read the full IIHS ratings list here.

Acura TLX in good company

Acura’s ground breaking TLX received the highest safety rating in the midsize luxury car category along with Audi, BMW, Infiniti and Volvo. This year the IIHS ratings weighed heavily not only on the small overlap crash test results but passive and active accident preventive technology; with an emphasis placed on radar and camera activated forward collision avoidance.

TLX i-4 all wheel steer and TLX V6 SH-AWD feature these technologies and more

Does this make TLX the safest midsize luxury car on the road today? We’ll leave that call up to the IIHS and you; the driver. While select TLX , BMW, Infiniti and Volvo cars and light trucks offer passive and active safety, pedestrian recognition and forward collision avoidance features, many can be disabled with the flip of a switch or the push of a button; leaving the activation and use of advanced safety features, ride stability and accident avoidance up to the driver.

Acura has taken autonomous driving characteristics to the point where when necessitated by erratic driving, excessive lane wandering or a pending forward collision, 2015 TLX will take over the steering wheel and decelerate while automatically applying the brakes. We reported on these features in a recent CR-V article.

Another important factor in weighing a manufacturer's qualification for Top Safety Pick + is the back up camera; now standard equipment on all 2015 Acura and Honda cars and light trucks. We believe that active accident avoidance features such as Honda LaneWatch, ™ crosswalk pedestrian, bicycle recognition and forward collision avoidance technology many pioneered by Honda will soon be mandated as standard equipment for all manufactures by federal law.

Why didn’t 2015 Accord rate “ Top Safety Pick + ? We have no idea, but CR-V SUV did. According to the IIHS in the case of Honda Accord, the combination of forward collision and early lane departure warning has resulted in a 14 to 27% reduction in accident and injury related insurance claims. You may read the IIHS report here.