Volvo S80 wins top safety award

The Cadillac STS and Mercedes E-Class earned the second-highest rating.

The 2008 BMW 5 Series was the worst performer in new side-impact crash tests of luxury sedans by the US insurance industry.

The Volvo S80 also won the institute's top safety award for overall crash protection, since it got the highest ratings in front, side and rear crash tests and has electronic stability control as standard equipment. Stability control helps prevent rollovers.

'Volvo's safety has long been recognized, but it is really rewarding to see that our efforts in making our range of vehicles ever safer have been proven yet again, especially when comparing to other premium brands. I believe that safety will play a bigger and bigger role in the buyer's mind in this region and they have the assurance that Volvo cars are not only safe , as proven in this test , but also an exciting alternative when looking for a premium car' said Greg Maruszewski, Regional Managing Director, Volvo Cars Middle East.

The tests were designed to show what would happen if a truck or SUV hit the side of the sedan at 50 km/h, the speed of a serious crash. Side-impact crashes are the most common type of fatal crash after a frontal crash, killing around 9 000 people on US roadways in 2005, the institute said.

'Growing sales of SUVs and pickups have exacerbated height mismatches among passenger vehicles, thereby increasing the risks to occupants of many vehicles struck in the side,' Insurance Institute president Adrian Lund said in a news release.

All six sedans were equipped with standard side air bags. The air bags in the BMW 5 Series protected the head, but separate air bags designed to protect the chest and abdomen performed poorly, the institute said.

BMW spokesman Thomas Plucinsky said the institute's test indicated the 5 Series has a strong body structure but the dummy was injured when it was hit by the arm rest. Plucinsky said BMW does up to 12 crash tests on all its cars as well as computer simulations of crashes. 'The issue is that depending on the location of seat, the location of dummy, the location of the sled, the results could change,' he said. 'This was one test on one day on one car.'

'The Amanti shows that you don't have to buy an expensive car to get good protection in crashes with SUVs and pickups,' Lund said.

All of the sedans tested were 2007 models except the 5 Series, which was redesigned for 2008, institute spokesman Russ Rader said.