Subaru Vehicles Have Strong Showing Once Again as IIHS Announces Top Safety Pick Ratings for 2018

• Six Subaru models earn high marks from IIHS, including four Top Safety Pick+ winners when equipped with optional EyeSight and specific headlights
  
  
• 2018 Impreza earns Top Safety Pick+ rating, the only small car to achieve top ratings in all IIHS evaluations
  
  
• 2018 Legacy earns yet another Top Safety Pick rating, making it the longest running award winner in its class for 13 years in a row (2006-2018)
  
  
• Subaru Forester extends its record as the longest running Top Safety Pick winner in the small SUV class with its 12th consecutive win (2007-2018)

MISSISSAUGA, ON, Dec. 11, 2017 /CNW/ - Subaru Canada, Inc. (SCI) is proud to announce that six of its vehicles earned high marks for safety from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for 2018, including four Top Safety Pick+ (TSP+) designations.

The 2018 Impreza, Legacy, Outback and WRX models each earned the TSP+ award from the IIHS when equipped with EyeSight driver assist technology and LED steering-responsive headlights. Additionally, 2018 Crosstrek and Forester received the Top Safety Pick (TSP) award when equipped with EyeSight and LED steering-responsive headlights.

For its 2018 rankings, IIHS once again increased the standards for earning a Top Safety Pick+ (TSP+) to include a newly introduced passenger-side small overlap front crash test. This new test, which duplicates the same test on the driver's side, sends the vehicle into a barrier at 64 km/h (40 mph) with just 25 per cent of the vehicle's front end overlapping the barrier. It mimics what happens when the front corner of a vehicle collides with another vehicle or with an obstacle such as a tree or utility pole.

"Drivers expect that their passengers, who are often family, will be protected just as well as they are," says IIHS President Adrian Lund. "Manufacturers have been taking this issue seriously since we first shed light on it, and we're confident that good small overlap protection will become the norm on the passenger side, just as it has on the driver side."

2018 Crosstrek, Impreza, Legacy, Outback and WRX were top performers in the test, according to IIHS, and received "good" ratings.

To earn the TSP designation, a vehicle must earn "good" ratings in the Institute's small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side impact, rear crash protection and rollover tests, as well as an "advanced" or "superior" rating for front crash prevention with standard or optional autobrake. It must also earn a "good" or "acceptable" rating for its headlights. In order to carry the TSP+ rating, headlights must now receive a "good" rating, as well as a "good" or "acceptable" rating in the passenger-side small overlap front crash test.

With these 2018 awards, Subaru continues to build on its impressive safety record. The Subaru Legacy continues its streak as the longest running midsize sedan with top safety ratings for an astounding 13th year in a row, while the Forester extends its title as the longest running winner in the small SUV category with a record 12th win.

"Safety is, and always will be, one of Subaru's core values," said Yasushi Enami, chairman, president and CEO of Subaru Canada, Inc. "The new Subaru Global Platform is just one of the core technologies that demonstrates our commitment to meeting the safety standards of the future."

About Subaru Canada, Inc.

Subaru Canada, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of 93 authorized dealers across Canada. For more information, please visit www.subaru.ca or www.pr.subaru.ca or follow @SubaruCanada on Twitter.

SOURCE Subaru Canada Inc.

Julie Lychak, PR Manager, [phone], [email protected]; Dan Ilika, PR Specialist, [phone], [email protected]; Sebastien Lajoie, PR Specialist, Quebec Region, [phone], [email protected]