Mitsubishi Car Rollover Crash/Impact Results
New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrationin (NHTSA) started side crash-tested vehicles from 1997. It began with model year 1997 cars, then in 1999 started testing light trucks, sport utility vehicles and vans.
Note: Also checkout NHTSA's New Rollover Site for excellent coverage of rollovers.
While rollovers do not occur as frequently as other types of crashes (see Figure 1), when they do occur, the result is often serious injury or death. Rollovers accounted for more than 10,000 fatalities in the United States in 1999, more than side and rear crashes combined. They also resulted in thousands of serious injuries. NHTSA believes that most of these rollovers, and the tragic injuries that result, are preventable, if consumers understand the roles the driver, roadside environment and vehicle play in causing the rollover.
From its studies of real-world single-vehicle crashes, NHTSA has determined that more than 90% of rollovers occur after a driver runs off of the road. This does not refer to vehicles trying to negotiate difficult trails away from public roads. It refers to vehicles rolling over off of the pavement after the driver has lost control of the vehicle. Once the vehicle slides off of the pavement, a ditch, soft soil, curb or other tripping mechanism usually initiates the rollover.
What is a "Rollover Resistance Rating"? Most rollover crashes occur when a vehicle runs off the road and is tripped by a ditch, curb, soft soil, or other object causing it to rollover. These crashes are usually caused by driver behavior such as speeding or inattention. These are called single vehicle crashes because the crash did not involve a collision with another vehicle. More than 10,000 people die each year in all rollover crashes.
The Rollover Resistance Rating is an estimate of your risk of rolling over if you have a single vehicle crash. It does not predict the likelihood of that crash. The Rollover Resistance Rating essentially measures vehicle characteristics of center of gravity and track width to determine how "top-heavy" a vehicle is. The more "top-heavy" the vehicle, the more likely it is to roll over. The lowest rated vehicles (1-star) are at least four times more likely to roll over than the highest rated vehicles (5-stars).
The Rollover Resistance Ratings of vehicles were compared to 220,000 actual single vehicle crashes, and the ratings were found to relate very closely to the real-world rollover experience of vehicles.
While the Rollover Resistance Rating does not directly predict the risk of injury or death, keep in mind that rollovers have a higher fatality rate than other kinds of crashes. Remember: Even the highest rated vehicle can rollover, but you can reduce your chance of being killed in a rollover by about 75% just by wearing your seat belt.
Here are the Rollover Resistance Ratings:
In A Single Vehicle Crash, a vehicle with a rating of:
5 Star: Has a risk of rollover of less than 10 percent
4 Star: Has a risk of rollover between 10 percent and 20 percent
3 Star: Has a risk of rollover between 20 percent and 30 percent
2 Star: Has a risk of rollover between 30 percent and 40 percent
1 Star: Has a risk of rollover greater than 40 percent
Note: in 1999, there were about 2.5 million side collisions resulting in loss of about 8000 lives and many more seriously injured.
Only those getting a "failing " grade - 1 or 2 stars are listed here. Many Mitsubishi vehicles have not been tested.
2002 Mitsubishi Montero Sport 4-DR. 4x2 - 2
2001 Mitsubishi Montero Sport 4-DR. 4x4 - 2
2001 Mitsubishi Montero Sport 4-DR. 4x2 - 2
2002 Mitsubishi Montero Sport 4-DR. 4x4 - 2 [Under Review]
Note: Seemingly the only vehicle tested by NCAP remarked "Under Review!"
2003 Mitsubishi Montero Sport 4-DR. 4x4 - 2
2003 Mitsubishi Montero Sport 4-DR. 4x2 - 2
2002 Mitsubishi Montero Sport 4-DR. 4x4 - 2
There are a few other Mitsubishi vehicles that scored low - 3 Star rating. While 3 Star ratings can be "technically" considered passing - why take chances with your and your dear ones when they can buy vehicles with 4 and 5 star - preferred 5.
2003 Mitsubishi Outlander 4-DR. 4x2
2003 Mitsubishi Outlander 4-DR. 4x4
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Kamal Sinha - www.mitsubishisucks.com
(Last Updated: February 3, 2004.)
A Mitsubishi - Eclipse of Ethics presentation.