Toyota Of Concord Proud To Offer 2012 Toyota Prius C, IIHS Top Safety Pick

Online, June 1, 2012 (Newswire.com) - The entire Toyota Prius family is now certified by the Institute of Highway Safety as Top Safety Picks. To earn the distinction, a car has to earn a Good rating or better in all areas of testing.

The 2012 Toyota Prius c earned a rating of Good in the Side Impact Evaluation. In this test, neither the driver nor the rear passenger is at risk of significant injury, according to measures taken from a crash dummy. There was also adequate head protection for both passengers from the side curtain airbags deployed from the roof.

The Toyota Prius c also earned a Good rating in the Frontal Offset Test. The dummy movement was determined to be well controlled, with side curtain airbags and frontal airbags deploying to minimize injury.

Rear Crash Protection is evaluated in three stages, in all three of which the Toyota Prius c earned a Good rating. These measure the protection against neck injuries in rear impacts, assessing seat position and body and head restraints, determining the likelihood of injury for an average sized adult in a stopped vehicle that is rear-ended by a similar car at a speed of 20 mph. These injuries are rarely serious, but this type of crash is common.

The last test is the Roof Strength Test. In this test, a metal plate is pushed against one side of the roof at a constant speed. To be rated Good, the roof must hold up to the force of 4 times the car's weight before reaching five inches of crush, which determines the strength-to-weight ratio. The Prius c rated 5.28. The minimum score by federal standards is 1.5, but studies have shown that a car with a ratio of 4.0 has an estimated 50 percent reduction in the risk of serious or fatal injury in single-vehicle rollover crashes compared with the minimum level of 1.5.

These ratings reflect safety standards that are made possible not only by strength and body design, but by many safety features in the Toyota Prius c. These include side airbags, front and rear head curtain airbags, and front seat-mounted torso airbags. A separate driver knee airbag in the lower instrument panel is designed to reduce knee injuries in frontal crashes. There are also seat cushion airbags in the forward portion of the driver and passenger seats to keep people from sliding under the seat belts.

Toyota of Concord cares about safety and is proud to offer the Prius c to car buyers in the Charlotte, NC area. For more information about the 2012 Toyota Prius c or any other Toyota model, visit ToyotaofConcord.com or stop by the dealership for a test drive today.