I'm excited about the Prius rating but also for the Cruze. A lot of people purchase the Cruze and Fiesta so it's good to know those are safe cars unlike the old Cavalier.
Yes, but how much of that is due to the new rating system? Toyota Camry 2010: Five stars, except rollover Toyota Camry 2011: Four stars, three for frontal crash Toyota Prius 2010: Mostly four stars, except for five star driver's side Toyota Prius 2011: Four star frontal/rollover, five star side impact Is it possible that the new rating system exposes crash vulnerabilities that are not present in the Prius?
IIRC, Toyota didn't submit any 2010 models for roof strength testing, and was thus locked out of the best rating.
It is. EPA says Prius is midsize. EPA defines mid-size as 110 to 119 Cu Ft. Prius total interior volume is 115.3. I'm guessing it's the Examiner's "error". Judging by the Chevy ad in the middle of the article, I would say it's for GM's benefit, somehow.
NHTSA has their own way of classifying cars: by weight. From their FAQ (warning: PDF): Safercar.gov puts 2011 Prius at 3082 lbs, which means it should be in the Passenger cars medium class, along with the Cruze and Camry.
I replied to this yesterday but it didn't appear. Operator error hitting the Submit button apparently! I am reviewing a Cruze Eco right now. It's a very competent compact car, though it doesn't feel as refined as our Prius. I was quite impressed compared to previous GM compact cars. Plus, it not only got top overall safety ratings, it received top ratings in each sub-category of the testing from both agencies. Very impressive! Among various other changes in the new system, the female dummy now used for the passenger side in the frontal testing seemed to cause a lot of issues, especially for a few notable Toyota models. The parameters of these tests have been known for many years and manufacturers simulate and test in-house for the most part. Obviously, older models may not have been designed with this in mind, but new and re-designed models introduced in the last year or two don't have the same excuse!
