Most small SUVs flunk updated insurance industry crash tests

By TOM KRISHER
AP Auto Writer

DETROIT (AP) — Most small SUVs flunked the latest frontal crash tests done by the insurance industry, but oddly enough, they’re just as safe as they were before. That’s because the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety updated the test so it places more emphasis on keeping back-seat passengers safe. Only the Ford Escape and Volvo XC40 got the top “good” rating in this year’s testing released Tuesday. The Toyota RAV4 was rated “acceptable,” while Audi’s Q3, the Nissan Rogue and the Subaru Forester were “marginal.” The Buick Encore, Chevrolet Equinox, Honda CR-V and HR-V, Hyundai Tucson, Jeep Compass and Renegade, Mazda CX-5 and Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross got the bottom rating of “poor.”