Five SUVs flunk new IIHS tests, but not Subaru

Chris Woodyard | USA TODAY

Five small crossovers flunk the new small overlap crash test, but not the 2014 Subaru Forester.

The Forester was the only one of 13 small crossover SUVs to earn an overall rating of good in the test, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says. The 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport got an acceptable rating.

Rated marginal were the Nissan Rogue, Mazda CX-5, Honda CR-V, Jeep Wrangler and Volkswagen Tiguan.

Five small crossovers were rated poor included the Ford Escape, Jeep Patriot, Buick Encore, Kia Sportage and Hyundai Tucson.

The small overlap test is meant to replicate what happens when a vehicle runs into a pole or other narrow thin object at the left or right edge.

IIHS testers say Subaru set out to pass the test.

",,,And they succeeded," says Joe Nolan, the Institute's vice president for vehicle research. "This is exactly how we hoped manufacturers would respond to improve protection for people in these kinds of serious frontal crashes."

At the other end of the spectrum, IIHS had this to say about one of them:

"The Jeep Patriot was among the worst for restraints and kinematics. The dummy's head slid off the frontal airbag as the steering wheel moved 8 inches up and nearly 6 inches to the right. The side curtain airbag didn't deploy, and the safety belt allowed the dummy's head and torso to move too far forward."