16.11.2004
Saab earns highest rating in safety study

A study concerning the safety of car seats, conducted by the Insurance Industry and Highway Safety (IIHS) and Britain’s Thatcham research center, was published in the U.S. last weekend. The Saab 9-2X and the Saab 9-3 achieved highest ratings in this study.

The seats and head restraints of 73 vehicles were tested. The Saab 9-2X and the Saab 9-3 were among the 8 models that received the highest rating, "good". The Saab 9-5 received the second-best rating, "acceptable", along with 15 other cars.

The test evaluates the safety of car seats. It consists of two parts: The first one is a geometric evaluation of the head restraint's height and the distance between the occupant's head and the headrest. The second part is a crash test to measure the load on the neck of a dummy and how quickly the head is supported by the head restraint. Together, the two test parts are the basis for an overall ranking of the seat's performance.