If you're shopping for a new vehicle, you probably have a list of features you want. Typically, drivers want safety, comfort, convenience, performance, and economy from their cars, although not necessarily in that order. However, should the unthinkable happen, you'll wish safety was at the top of your list.
Fortunately, Mazda's lineup of vehicles checks all the boxes, including safety. In fact, every Mazda tested earned top honors in the 2023 IIHS Top Safety Pick awards. So not only will you get the must-have creature comforts and advanced tech, but you also get performance, economy, and the all-important safety you can rely on.
At Bountiful Mazda, we know that many drivers don't understand what goes into making a safe vehicle or how the IIHS makes their picks. So we asked our vehicle experts to explain how the IIHS program works and what that means for you as you shop for a new Mazda.
What Is the IIHS?
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is an organization independent of the automobile manufacturing industry that tests vehicle safety. The IIHS operates without governmental control, and the insurance industry funds the institute.
Because the IIHS operates independently, they continually push automakers to improve safety features to earn these coveted awards. Earning a Top Safety Pick award provides instant credibility to any vehicle. You know that the car has met or exceeded extremely high standards for manufacturing quality safety systems that matter in the event of a crash.
In addition, the IIHS has strengthened several categories for the 2023 selection process. Now, cars must have better side crash protection, improved pedestrian crash detection systems, and the finest headlight performance to qualify.
IIHS Testing Explained
The IIHS conducts crash tests in various formats. Since front and side impacts cause the most physical injury, the tests the IIHS runs are designed to identify how well a vehicle protects passengers from harm.
For example, a Moderate Overlap Front Test runs the test vehicle at 40 mph into a barrier made of deformable aluminum honeycomb. Forty percent of the vehicle's front width strikes the barrier on the driver's side, mimicking the effect of a real frontal offset collision between two cars traveling 40 mph.
They also conduct Driver's Side and Passenger's Side Small Overlap tests. In this test, the vehicle strikes the barrier with 25% of its front width on either side. This type of test replicates a vehicle striking another vehicle or a stationary object like a utility pole or tree with the front corner.
Testers place a dummy to approximate the size of an adult male in the driver's seat and a dummy about the size of an average woman or 12-year-old child in the rear seat behind the driver. These dummies have sensors in them that measure injury likelihood, severity, and dummy movement.
Rating Criteria
The first criterion rates the vehicle's safety structure or safety cage. The engineers measure the amount of intrusion into the passenger compartment. Next, they can see how well the structure held up against the crash energy in a particular type of crash, thus predicting any potential injuries.
Next, the engineers test the likelihood and severity of injuries from a particular crash. They use sensors in the dummies that measure various head, chest, neck, leg, and foot injuries based on the impact's energy on the dummies.
Restraints and dummy movement get measured next. This criterion rates the effectiveness of the seat restraints and airbag systems and how well they keep the dummies in place. It's important to note that a dummy can't replicate the many different sizes and shapes of people. What could be a close call for a dummy might be a fatal injury for a person of a different size.
To help, testers paint the dummies' heads, knees, and lower legs with grease paint. Then, after the test, they can see where the grease paint transfers to parts of the vehicle, indicating where contact was made and to what part of the body. They also use high-speed film footage to evaluate dummy movement.
Realistic Safety Performance
The IIHS now has 14 years of crash data from real-world crashes involving IIHS-rated vehicles. Their analysis reveals that a driver of a vehicle rated Good in the Moderate Front Overlap test is 46% less likely to suffer fatal injuries than a driver in a similar vehicle with a Poor rating.
In the Driver's Side Small Overlap Front test, the driver of a Good-rated vehicle is 12% less likely to die than a driver in a similar vehicle with a Poor rating. It should also be noted that these crash test results don't compare across weight classes. We know that heavier vehicles bring more kinetic energy to the impact, thus creating more damage. However, in a crash between two cars with Good ratings, the heavier vehicle offers better protection than the lighter vehicle.
Mazda Vehicles Test Ratings
The IIHS tested the Mazda3 Sedan, Mazda3 Hatchback, CX-30, CX-5, CX-50, and the CX-9. We were extremely gratified to learn that every model tested received a Good rating, the highest possible, and all were chosen as 2023 IIHS Top Safety Picks.
2023 Mazda3 Sedan & Hatchback IIHS Ratings
The 2023 Mazda3 Sedan and Hatchback were both named IIHS Top Safety picks. Out of 11 small cars in its category, these two were the only vehicles to earn the top "Good" rating in a new, tougher side crash test. The updated side crash test was developed to simulate higher severity crashes by using a heavier barrier traveling at a higher speed than the striking vehicle. The Mazda3 was also rated as "Good" in the other six Crashworthiness categories. Other IIHS ratings for the 2023 Mazda3 Sedan and Hatchback are as follows:
- Crash avoidance & mitigation
- Headlights: Good/Acceptable (varies by trim/option)
- Front crash prevention (vehicle-to-vehicle): Superior
- Front crash prevention (vehicle-to-pedestrian): Superior
- Seat belts & child restraints
- LATCH ease of use: Good
2023 Mazda CX-30 IIHS Ratings
It doesn't get much safer than the 2023 Mazda CX-30, which received the highest, Good and Superior, ratings in every single IIHS test and was ranked as a 2023 Top Safety Pick+. From crashworthiness to crash avoidance & mitigation, and even seat belts & child restraints, the Mazda CX-30 was a top competitor in the small SUV category for 2023.
2023 Mazda CX-5 IIHS Ratings
The 2023 Mazda CX-5 was named an IIHS Top Safety Pick in the small SUV category, receiving the highest Good rankings across the board for the Crashworthiness category. Results in the Crash avoidance & mitigation and Seat belts & child restraints categories were a bit more scattered, though the CX-5 still performed well overall receiving the following ratings:
- Crash avoidance & mitigation
- Headlights: Good/Acceptable (varies by trim/option)
- Front crash prevention (vehicle-to-vehicle): Superior
- Front crash prevention (vehicle-to-pedestrian): Advanced
- Seat belts & child restraints
- LATCH ease of use: Acceptable
2023 Mazda CX-50 IIHS Ratings
The 2023 Mazda CX-50 was also named an IIHS Top Safety Pick in the small SUV category, receiving Good rankings on all Crashworthiness tests except for the updated side crash test, which received an Acceptable rating. The Mazda CX-50 also did well overall in the Crash avoidance & mitigation and Seat belts & child restraints categories, scoring as follows:
- Crash avoidance & mitigation
- Headlights: Good/Acceptable (varies by trim/option)
- Front crash prevention (vehicle-to-vehicle): Superior
- Front crash prevention (vehicle-to-pedestrian, day): Superior
- Front crash prevention (vehicle-to-pedestrian, night): Basic
- Seat belts & child restraints
- Seat belt reminders: Good
- LATCH ease of use: Good+
2023 Mazda CX-9 IIHS Ratings
The 2023 Mazda CX-9, overall, did well with the IIHS safety ratings and was also named an IIHS Top Safety Pick for the Midsize SUV class. The Crashworthiness tests all received Good ratings, except for the Moderate overlap front: updated test which received a Poor rating. The Mazda CX-9 also did well overall in the Crash avoidance & mitigation and Seat belts & child restraints categories, scoring as follows
- Crash avoidance & mitigation
- Headlights: Good
- Front crash prevention (vehicle-to-vehicle): Superior
- Front crash prevention (vehicle-to-pedestrian, day): Advanced
- Front crash prevention (vehicle-to-pedestrian, night): Basic
- Seat belts & child restraints
- Seat belt reminders: Marginal
- LATCH ease of use: Good
Other manufacturers discuss safety, but Mazda remains committed to providing the safest possible cars. That includes research and development of new materials, craftsmanship, and technology for the best results. That means when you drive off in your new Mazda, you're driving one of the safest vehicles in the world.
Test Drive a New Mazda in Bountiful Today
So you have your list of criteria you want in a new car. Hopefully, now you value safety more than anything. However, you don't have to sacrifice craftsmanship, technology, or performance to achieve safety when you purchase a Mazda. Today's Mazda vehicles come standard with the luxury amenities you crave, plus all the in-vehicle tech you love. And Mazda develops every powertrain with the intent to excite drivers. We invite you to browse our online inventory to get an idea of what might interest you. Then, you can visit our dealership at 2815 S Main St in Bountiful, UT, and one of our new vehicle specialists will answer any questions and let you take your preferred Mazda for a spin.