The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety is tough on vehicles. The institute's crash tests are among the most difficult to ace, with very high standards for front and side impacts, plus rigid roof strength standards. But while some vehicles struggle to achieve the top score of "Good," the Infiniti EX35 seems to have had the answers to the test.

Infiniti's smallest luxury crossover achieved the top score of "Good" because it features standard stability control, it passed the all-important rear and side impact protection tests and it has a roof that can handle the pressure of more than four times its overall weight. The roof test is measured by pressing a metal plate into a corner of the roof at a constant rate. The pressure continues to build until five inches of crush is achieved. If the roof can withstand at least four times the overall weight of the vehicle, it receives a score of "Good." Since the EX35 checked off every box with a score of "Good," the IIHS feels comfortable calling the CUV a "Top Safety Pick."

But while the EX35 was aces in the roof test, the similarly sized Acura RDX didn't fare nearly as well. IIHS gave the RDX an overall score of "Marginal" after the Acura roof was found to only be able to withstand 2.9 times the overall weight of the vehicle.

Hit the jump to read over the Infiniti press release.

Continue reading Infiniti EX35 nabs Top Safety Pick from IIHS, Acura RDX faulters

Infiniti EX35 nabs Top Safety Pick from IIHS, Acura RDX faulters originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 29 Jun 2011 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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