When you Compare New Automobiles, safety is often a top priority for car buyers. A crucial aspect of vehicle safety assessment in the US is the Overall Vehicle Score, a star rating system designed to help consumers quickly gauge the safety performance of different vehicles. This score provides an overall injury risk assessment, synthesizing data from frontal and side crash tests, as well as rollover resistance evaluations.
The Overall Vehicle Score is calculated based on probabilities of injury derived from these tests. These probabilities are weighted to reflect real-world injury proportions associated with each crash type. The resulting score is then benchmarked against the average injury risk across all vehicles. This comparison determines whether a vehicle presents a higher or lower average injury risk. The star ratings are assigned based on this comparison to the average fleet risk:
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: Significantly lower than average injury risk.
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐: Lower than average to average injury risk.
- ⭐⭐⭐: Average to higher than average injury risk.
- ⭐⭐: Higher than average injury risk.
- ⭐: Significantly higher than average injury risk.
It’s critical to understand the limitations when using the Overall Vehicle Score to compare new automobiles. Direct comparisons are only valid between vehicles within the same class and with similar weights. Specifically, you can only compare vehicles whose weights are within a 250-pound range of each other.
For instance, it would be inappropriate to compare new automobiles if one is a 4,500-pound SUV and another is a 3,000-pound sedan. This is because they are in different vehicle classes and exceed the permissible weight difference. Similarly, comparing a 3,600-pound pickup truck to a 3,400-pound minivan is also invalid due to the class difference, despite meeting the weight criteria. However, it is perfectly valid to compare new automobiles such as a 3,400-pound passenger car with a 3,650-pound passenger car, as they belong to the same class and fall within the acceptable weight range. Therefore, when you compare new automobiles using safety ratings, always consider vehicle class and weight to ensure you are making an accurate and meaningful comparison.
