3/2015+ Sonic Named 2015 Top Safety Pick by IIHS

[cowboy]

Source: Chevrolet Sonic Named 2015 Top Safety Pick by Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

DETROIT – The midyear 2015 Chevrolet Sonic has been named a 2015 Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

“Customer safety is of utmost importance to Chevrolet, across all segments” said Jeff Boyer, vice president, General Motors Global Vehicle Safety. “The Sonic receiving this designation is a testament to that focus.”

The Sonic’s improvements in the Small Overlap Front Crash Protection Test – due to changes in the front-end structure, door sill and door pillar for the midyear 2015 model – were enough to give it a “good” rating. The “good” rating is the IIHS’ highest possible rating in each test. In addition to the Small Overlap Test, good ratings in the moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests fulfilled the requirements needed to receive the Top Safety Pick designation for Sonic vehicles built after February 2015.

“With good ratings across the board in all five IIHS crashworthiness evaluations, the improved Sonic delivers a high level of protection among small cars in the most common kinds of crashes,” said IIHS President Adrian Lund.

The Sonic is the only car in its class to feature 10 standard airbags, including knee air bags for the driver and front passenger. Sensors throughout the vehicle determine how many air bags deploy depending on a given crash.

In a crash, Sonic’s strong body structure is designed to absorb crash energy and provide a protective “safety cage” around occupants. More than 60 percent of the body structure is composed of advanced steels.

Sonic also actively works to avoid crashes with two available safety features. Forward Collision Alert provides alerts to help the driver avoid crashing into a vehicle they are following that is moving or has come to a stop. It also lets the driver know if they are following a vehicle ahead much too closely. Lane Departure Warning provides alerts to help drivers avoid crashes due to unintentionally drifting out of their lane when their turn signal is not activated.

Source: Vehicle details on the IIHS web site

Crashworthiness for models built after February 2015:

Small overlap front: Good
Moderate overlap front: Good
Side: Good
Roof strength: Good
Head restraints and seats: Good

 

[PurdueGuy]

Nicely done, GM. It'd be easy to just leave it be until the refresh. Nice to see a more responsive attitude than that.

 

[Stew]

Interesting. I wonder if the crash bar or 'bumper' was extended to help with the small overlap test, and if so I wonder if the 2015 style crash bar would bolt onto 2012 - 2014 Sonics.

It always kinda bugged me that the 'bumper' now hidden behind a fascia was so lacking, not just with the Sonic but on a lot of cars. Imagine consumers reactions to such a bumper back when bumpers were on the outside and visible, there would've been major complaints.

 

[LTZ ICE]

Much credit to General Motors for improving upon an already safe automobile.
Making an improvement like this is not an overnight task, nor is it cheap to do.
When safety improvements are made, GM should capitalize on it through creative marketing to promote an already successful car.

 

[m3t4lm4n222]

So what changed on the 2015 to make it's crash test so much better than the 2014?

 

[LTZ ICE]

So what changed on the 2015 to make it's crash test so much better than the 2014?

Front-end structure, door sill, door pillar. I believe they added more high strength steel in those areas.

 

[cowboy]

Yes, that is correct LTZ ICE. According to the IIHS site, they documented the following:

The Chevrolet Sonic was introduced in the 2012 model year. Beginning with 2015 models built after February 2015, the front-end structure, door sill, and hinge pillar were modified to improve occupant protection in small overlap frontal crashes. Also, the side curtain airbags were lengthened and reprogrammed to deploy earlier in small overlap crashes. The small overlap frontal ratings apply to both the 4-door sedan and hatchback (5-door) versions of the Sonic.

I wonder if Chevy could reprogram the SRS system of earlier models to at least make the side curtain airbags to deploy earlier?

One thing that I would find interesting is if someone like the IIHS would perform the same test on a group of identical vehicles to document how repeatable are their findings.

 

[mja]

Instead of spending tons of money on a new fascia, they put the money in improving what was already one of the safest cars in the class. Good post, like it.

 

[tainopayute]

Does all this reinforcement the 2015 Sonic have make the car heavier than the previous year models?

 

[cowboy]

Does all this reinforcement the 2015 Sonic have make the car heavier than the previous year models?

Interesting question.

My guess is the difference will be minor.

I just checked the fleet order guide and compared 2014 and 2015 and the curb weights are identical but it is certainly possible the 2015 has not been updated.

The 2016 information has not been published as yet. When it is, I will try to remember to compare that and report back here if someone else had not.

Cheerios

 

[tainopayute]

Thanks Cowboy.