This level of performance is the norm now.

254

Nearly every car now earns good ratings in our frontal test. The Fusion is acceptable, which isn't a bad result, but it's not competitive with other cars in its class. Based on this car's side and rear evaluations along with its acceptable frontal rating, the Fusion is the lowest rated moderately priced midsize car we've evaluated.

215

Now we will be able to focus more of our attention on our side impact test program and our rear impact test program as well as look at other areas where we can improve occupant protection.

207

It's disappointing that so many minivan seats are rated poor for rear impact protection. Drivers of minivans spend a lot of time on urban and suburban roads where rear-end collisions are common in stop-and-go traffic. Moms often are behind the wheel, and women are more vulnerable to whiplash injuries so they especially need good seats and head restraints.

187

The Fusion is a disappointment because it's a brand new design. Ford has done a good job with some other recent models, but the Fusion is at the back of the pack among midsize sedans for overall safety performance.

183

Now almost every vehicle we test offers good protection.

154

Results for the BMW and Lexus show that manufacturers can design cars to protect people in the three most common kinds of crashes that lead to injuries.

148

In the past, cars from Hyundai often didn't perform as well as many competitors in our safety tests. Structure is the key to providing good protection in a frontal crash because if the occupant compartment buckles or crumples, the safety belts and airbags cannot do a good job of protecting the people inside. The structure of the new Sonata is a dramatic improvement.

140

The performance of the G6 is dramatically better.

95