The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently released their safety ratings and the 2017 Toyota Sienna earned five stars for overall safety, the highest rating available. If you’re looking for a new vehicle and safety is one of your top concerns, keep reading to see why the Sienna ranks so high.
Top Rating in Side Crashes
When the NHTSA does a side barrier crash test scenario, they recreate an incident where you enter an intersection just as another vehicle runs a stop sign or red light and hits your vehicle along the driver’s side. During this test, they place an average size adult male dummy in the driver’s seat and small adult female dummy in the rear passenger seat. Then they evaluate the injuries to the head, chest, pelvis, and abdomen. In this test, the Sienna got five out of five stars.
High Marks for Front Crashes
The strong body of the Sienna helped it get four out of five stars when testing the possibility of another driver veering into your lane and causing a head-on collision. They put the average size adult male dummy in the driver’s seat and small adult female dummy in the passenger seat and look for injuries to the neck, head, chest, and legs.
Good Ranking on Rollover Tests
In a rollover test, the NHTSA considers a scenario where you’re driving 55 miles per hour down the highway and suddenly come upon a sharp turn. While you’re in the turn you lose control of the vehicle, it leaves the road, and it flips. Part of this test includes calculating a rollover resistance rating, which determines how top-heavy a vehicle is and whether it’s vulnerable to tipping. The Sienna received four out of five stars in the NHTSA’s rollover tests.
Plenty of Standard Safety Features
Part of the reason the Sienna received such high ratings from the NHTSA is that it has many standard safety features. The Sienna comes with the Star Safety System, which includes traction control, vehicle stability control, electronic brake-force distribution, anti-lock brakes, Smart Stop Technology, and brake assist. Additionally, the Sienna comes standard with eight airbags, three-point seatbelts on all seating positions, energy-absorbing crumple zones in the front and rear, and side-impact door beams.
Advanced Safety Features Available
Along with the standard safety features, the Sienna also comes available with some of the latest advanced safety equipment. These optional items include a blind spot monitor that illuminates a warning light in the side mirror when another vehicle is in your blind spot. There’s also a rear cross-traffic alert system that gives you audible and visual warnings when another vehicle approaches as you’re backing up. Finally, the Sienna is available with parking assist sonar that gives you audible warnings and a color video on the touch-screen display to help you park.
If you’re looking for a safe vehicle for your family, the NHTSA five-star overall rated Toyota Sienna is a great choice. With plenty of standard safety features and upgrades available, you can feel secure when you get behind the wheel of the Sienna.
Image via Toyota.com
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