CX-9 One Of The Most Dangerous Cars in America?

[Force-1]

4. CX-9
Make: Mazda
Bad ratings:rollover-marginal; rear-marginal
2011 sales: 34,421
Price: $29,725
JD Power Initial Quality: 4/5

Assembled in Hiroshima, Japan, the Mazda CX-9 received marginal scores in both rollover and rear safety ratings. The CX-9 also had the lowest strength-to-weight ratio of all midsize SUVs tested by the IIHS. This ratio measures how much force a cars roof can handle before it crushes five inches, and then it is divided by the weight of the car. Despite these poor ratings, the number of CX-9s sold increased from 25,484 in 2007 to 34,421 in 2011.

http://247wallst.com/2012/05/29/the-most-dangerous-cars-in-america/2/

 

[Evan78]

There's no information in there about injury rates. That would be the criteria I would use. I've always wished for some kind of information that can be used to compare different classes of vehicles. How does an SUV with "marginal" rear safety compare to a small car with a "good" rating?

 

[HOLOHOLO]

How does an SUV with "marginal" rear safety compare to a small car with a "good" rating?

And when they meet, which would you rather be driving?

Force-1, I watched every Mazda safety crash test in detail before buying the car. I have absolutely no qualms about surviving crashes in this vehicle, but still, I'll do my best not to roll it.

IMHO, the only thing that could make this SUV seriously unsafe, is the driver.

 

[Evan78]

IMHO, the only thing that could make this SUV seriously unsafe, is the driver.

And what about other drivers? Rear-end collisions are seldom caused by the vehicle in front.

 

[djc6]

I wonder when these crash tests were performed that they are compiling. I know in 2010+ models the headrests were modified to improve rear collision performance.

 

[ceric]

I am sure CX9's more slanted (than others') A-pillar contributes to the low score.
Slanted A-pillar is good for frontal crash, but weak in roof strength test.
Watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLniVW0R0v0
BTW, I personally would be more concerned about B-pillar strength than that of A-pillar.
I don't what those guys were thinking when they design this test. When B-pillar collapses
you go to see your maker.

Anyhow, I won't lose sleep over this.
Try not to have it rolled over....

 

[POODLES]

there are probably to many variables in any accident to argue about. If your in a frontal collision, what's the other vehicle type? Or even better, why were you in a frontal collision? If you rolled your vehicle, why did you? Did you loose control in some manner? Were you on snow and went down into a ditch or was your car forced into a roll during loss of control on snow?

obviously, if your in a CX-9 and civic hits you front or side, depending on speed etc you may or may not be injured.


However, if an equivalent vehicle or large vehicle hits you in a similar manner, faster or slower, front/side/rear makes all the difference.

so argue if you wish. Yes, some cars are built better than others which we all know, but for those who don't know, full size trucks such as F-150 and suburbans don't have to meet the same requirements as cars do. That being said, if your in a civic or corolla and a F150 or suburban hits you, say good bye.

 

[ceric]

One of the key features of Skyactiv is the extensive use of ultra-high-tensile steels in structure.
You can see that the new CX5 did very well in this roll over test.
You can bet that the next CX9 will be on the top.
If you watch the video, you should see why putting pressure on the A-pillar puzzles me.
In a roll-over situation, your head is closer to the B-pillar than A.
A more upright A-pillar can obviously withstand more pressure than a slanted one (like our CX9's).
That is also why Honda Crosstour did not perform well either.

Overall, this test is wrong IMHO. They should test the B-pillar instead.

 

[table5511]

In my area, it is common practice to run a red light 5 seconds after the fact, as the cop sitting there gives you thumbs up. I worry mostly about side impacts, which the CX-9 performs well in.

 

[RoadKing01]

This is slightly worrisome in the event of a major accident. But I think I'd rather have the more raked windshield, which should result in better aero / mpg than a more vertical windshield. As a 20+ year veteran of my local fire dept I have seen many accidents through the years. Very few result in rollover unless high speeds are involved. The vast majority are impacts from the front or one of the sides. Most rear end collisions occur at low speeds

The superior handling of the cx9 to most other vehicles in the segment, should enable the driver to better perform evasive maneuvers / avoid an accident in the first place. I would much rather have the ability to avoid the accident entirely.

 

[table5511]

I agree with that. From what I have heard, the roll stability control is pretty good as the accellerometer will notify the computer to correct any sudden out of control situation in a millisecond. You have worked in the fire department.... I have worked in the insurance claims business for 7 years and a majority of rollover claims we see are either redneck with bald tires going down the road like a bat out of hell in his/her chevy s10 blazer, or DUI.