Six Star Magazine Six Star Magazine Winter 2009/2010 Legacy | Page 20

SAFETY RECOGNITION

WE’RE
ON A ROLL
ACES NEW
ROOF STRENGTH TESTS.
2010 TOP SAFETY PICK – INSURANCE
INSTITUTE FOR HIGHWAY SAFETY (IIHS)
Forester also achieves top marks in IIHS’s new roof
strength rating system (rollover protection).

The Subaru Forester is one of just four small SUVs to earn top
marks in the new roof strength rating system conducted by
the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Since vehicles
designed with stronger roofs generally crush less, reducing the
risk that people will be seriously injured by contact with the roof
itself in a rollover collision, the IIHS is encouraging manufacturers
to make improvements by introducing this new rating system.
In order to achieve top marks in rollover protection, roofs must
be more than twice as strong as those required by minimum U.S.
federal safety standards. They must also be able to withstand a
force of four times the weight of the vehicle before reaching five
inches of crush. The Institute estimates that such roofs reduce
the risk of serious and fatal injury in single-vehicle rollovers by
approximately 50 percent.
These independent testing results are a reassuring
confirmation of what Subaru engineers have known all along:
Every Subaru is designed and built to the highest standards of
active and passive safety.
To help you avoid an accident, the Forester is equipped with the
Subaru symmetrical full-time All-Wheel Drive system. While this
naturally balanced drivetrain offers superb handling, the standard
Vehicle Dynamics Control system also helps to promote superior
levels of stability as compared to other SUVs. Add in a low
centre of gravity achieved by the horizontally opposed SUBARU
BOXER engine, positioned low in the chassis, and you have an
exceptionally well-engineered vehicle designed to avoid rollovers
in the first place.
Even with so many active safety features working to keep
you safe, sometimes an accident is unavoidable. In these rare
occasions, class-leading passive safety systems are standing
guard. First, front and rear crumple zones along with Subaru’s
ring-shaped reinforcement frame are designed to direct impact
energy away from the cabin, providing protection against a
variety of collision types, including rollovers. Side-impact door
beams, impact-absorbing foam materials and a
reinforced door sill and dash enhance side-impact
safety performance. Next, active front-seat head

20 |

restraints provide better support and help to reduce
whiplash in a rear-end collision. Finally, six airbags,
including side curtains with rollover sensors, add another
layer of protection.
Thanks to the addition of even stricter safety standards, the
Subaru Forester breaks further away from the crowd and proves
once again that its beauty runs far beyond the surface.

IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY
2010 Outback, Legacy, Forester,
Impreza and Tribeca models have just
recently been named 2010 Top Safety
Picks by the Insurance Institute for
Highway Safety. This fantastic news
makes Subaru the only manufacturer with a 2010 Top
Safety Pick in every class in which it competes.
To qualify for a 2010 Top Safety Pick, a vehicle must
earn the highest rating of "good" in the Institute's front-,
side- and rear-impact crash tests, be equipped with
electronic stability control and achieve a "good" rating
in new roof strength tests, which measure rollover
protection. The criteria is tough because it is intended
to drive continued s