DC Car Examiner

What the IIHS often does when adding a new test is to create two tiers of "Top Safety Pick" -- one for the cars that earned a top score in all of the previous tests, and another for those that earned top scores in the new and old tests. The idea is that it doesn't preclude most of the market from Top Safety Pick status while automakers catch up to the latest test standards. The regular Top Safety Pick tests are moderate-overlap offset crash test, side crash test, roof strength evaluation, and head restraint evaluation. The Escape was rated Good in all of those; the Rogue was Good in all but the roof strength, where it was Acceptable, the second-highest score. But the Escape was Poor in the small-overlap frontal test, and the Rogue earned one position higher: Marginal. Meanwhile, cars with Good scores in all the original tests and a Good or Acceptable rating in the new small-overlap test are Top Safety Pick+. In this class, that's just the Forester and Outlander Sport.

Right, the 2014 hasn't been tested by NHTSA. But based on the best-in-class IIHS score -- by a wide margin over everything but the Mitsubishi -- plus the five-star score of the redesigned Impreza on which the new Forester is based, I think it was a confident prediction.

Meanwhile, the Rogue passed the IIHS small-overlap crash test and the Escape did not.

The popularity of the class seems pretty clear to me. I think you must be thinking of full-size crossovers, as these are nothing like minivans in either price, size or fuel economy. They're like roomier economy cars with higher seating positions, slightly -- but not wildly -- higher prices, and reduced -- but not horrible -- fuel economy. I almost was convinced I had the wrong year and needed to make a lot of corrections, but no -- for some reason, Subaru reports a massive cargo volume hit from the moonroof, including behind the rear seat: Cargo volume 34.4 cubic feet (31.5 cubic feet w/ moonroof) Maximum cargo volume 74.7 cubic feet with rear seat lowered (68.5 cubic feet w/ moonroof) http://www.subaru.com/vehicles/forester/models-specs.html (go to the 2.5i Premium for the specs listed back-to-back) Since I was looking up specs of the 2.5i Limited when putting the comparison together, I didn't come across both figures because the moonroof is standard on the model. I'll go back and mention this curiosity in the article text. A four-star rating counts as middling because almost nothing scores worse. Out of the cars on the market, something with a four-star score is among the lowest. Literally just a handful of current models earn three-star scores, perhaps five or six. If there are any errors, please share so they can be corrected. I think the Rogue review explains very thoroughly why it placed highly: Unlike any of the other inexpensive models in the class, it's at least competitive with the class leaders, just never better than them. It's not worst in class at one single thing.

http://www.examiner.com/list/comparison-review-nine-compact-crossover-suvs-the-best-and-the-worst Content included in the comparison includes: -Short summary reviews of the nine cars in the slideshow as part of the introductory article -Full reviews plus photo galleries of each car -Summaries of how the different cars compare in different ways -Summaries of how the different cars compare for different types of customer

I requested a test drive car with leather but no MFT, to match the equipment levels of the others in the comparison. It exists, but it was apparently too hard to find on the lot, so I drove a car with it and then played with the standard dash in another Fusion.

Voice commands are slow compared to pushing a button. My salesperson kept missing the buttons. It locked up during the drive. None of the merits to the system would be lost if there were also simple regular buttons for basic controls. The Fusion does have it at least for stereo volume and tuning; Chrysler's touch screen system -- with tons of functions -- just has regular buttons around it, with nothing lost. No compromises forced. And if the screen is buggy for a minute, you need it.

About the pay-per-click comments: The cars being on different pages are actually on a section of the site that loads pages more quickly but pays at one-tenth the normal rate -- or roughly one penny for each person who clicks through all 10 reviews. I have earned probably two dollars, maybe three, from posting here. I am not doing it for the money. "ok, I need explanation, WHAT buttons exactly are you referring to, that you would deem necessary to touch whilst driving...." Since when is anything in a $25,000 car based on dire necessity? If I want to adjust the climate controls -- temperature, fan speed, or vent mode -- I would like to do so while giving the buttons as little attention as possible. The defroster, too, is one that could be considered "necessary."

To be read in the same tongue-in-cheek tone: I guess you should avoid using it, too, while trying to drive. The best systems with touch-screens also have simple buttons and knobs that you can quickly find by feel for basic functions, while leaving the screen as another option for those who like it and for handling complicated settings. But of course this is a debate that I and others have probably been through, oh, maybe once or twice or a thousand times here...there's probably nothing new under the sun to say about MFT.

I don't have full reviews up of all the cars, but I've put a lot up at once in response to the criticisms that it's a pain when it trickles out slowly. What's posted: Introduction: Photos of the tested cars, cursory market analysis, list of the vehicles tested. http://www.examiner.com/article/comparison-review-ten-2013-midsize-sedans-introduction Short reviews (generally five paragraphs each) of each of the 10 cars: http://www.examiner.com/list/comparison-review-ten-2013-midsize-sedans-the-best-and-the-worst Ratings detailing how the cars compare in different areas: Comfort/luxury, driving experience, practicality, safety, fuel economy, price, and overall. http://www.examiner.com/article/comparison-review-ten-2013-midsize-sedans-ratings Rankings that change how different factors are weighted for different types of customers' preferences, under the headings of fancy yet attainable, useful family car, fun yet practical, bargain hunter's pick, and overall: http://www.examiner.com/article/comparison-review-ten-2013-midsize-sedans-rankings Full reviews of all or most of the 10, with more detail and complete photo galleries, will go up at some point. Feedback welcomed on the revised format, and apologies in advance for the auto-playing ad videos (which I can't control).

Best-sellers by approximate market class, with an asterisk denoting a new winner compared to 2011: Subcompact cars: Kia Soul Compact cars: Honda Civic* Midsize cars: Toyota Camry Large cars: Chevrolet Impala Entry-luxury cars: BMW 3-Series Luxury cars: Mercedes-Benz E-Class Compact crossovers/SUVs: Honda CR-V* Midsize crossovers/SUVs: Chevrolet Equinox Large crossovers: Ford Explorer/Interceptor Large SUVs: Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Entry-luxury crossovers/SUVs: Lexus RX Luxury crossovers/SUVs: BMW X5 Vans: Dodge Grand Caravan* Pickups: Ford F-Series Full Top 10 sales charts for each class: http://www.examiner.com/article/top-10-best-selling-cars-of-2012-by-class

2012's Top 30: More information and the top-30 sales charts, with comparisons to 2011 and 2010: http://www.examiner.com/article/america-s-most-popular-cars-the-top-30-best-selling-vehicles-of-2012

Top-20 best-seller charts, for the month and YTD: http://www.examiner.com/article/top-20-best-selling-cars-of-august-2012

The point is exactly what you're saying: The cars haven't become any less safe.

They're still being called Top Safety Picks for the 2012 and 2013 awards if they pass the existing four tests.

The thing is that each time the IIHS implements one of these tests, nearly ever car finds a way to achieve the top score within a few years. Each test they've implemented started out with a high failure rate: 40 percent offset in 1995, SUV side-impact in 2004ish, roof crush in 2009 or 2010.... Certainly the insurance companies have a profit motive, but it's about encouraging design changes that help them pay out less in injury claims. But if anyone can provide any data showing a spike in insurance premiums among these cars, please feel free.

How are the two situations any different, except for you assuming unscrupulous motives from one group? And unlike NHTSA, IIHS isn't even discontinuing the easier test -- it will still be around. And they're saying quite explicitly that cars that did well in the old test are very safe. If you don't like the basic idea of insurance companies funding crash tests, fine, so be it. But that's not an argument against tougher tests in general, which have been implemented both by IIHS and NHTSA as too many cars perfect the old system.

NHTSA and IIHS both add tougher tests as cars master the old ones. NHTSA redesigned its entire rating system just two years ago.

It wasn't one of the four that earned the lowest rating of Poor -- those were the A4, C-Class, IS (pictured below), and ES -- but the 2012 MKZ is the second-lowest rating of Marginal. Just two of 11 tested cars were the top score of Good; one was Acceptable. 40 miles per hour, with the impact concentrated on 25 percent of the front end. Details: http://www.examiner.com/article/four-luxury-sedans-fail-new-insurance-institute-for-highway-safety-crash-test

Top 20 best-sellers, for the month and YTD: http://www.examiner.com/article/top-20-best-selling-cars-of-july-2012

Nah, it's pretty easy to compare -- just add the Interceptor and Taurus sales. (I do when I compile my sales charts.) The Charger still has a higher volume.

It's usually the Charger that's the top seller (not even counting the Impala), but it's definitely up there. Edit: Just saw you said "a top seller." Whoopsie.

I saw my first 2013 Escape on the street yesterday, and just like at dealerships and at auto shows, I was reassured by how much boxier it looks in person than in photos. This isn't a car whose utility was sacrificed for styling, like in, say, a Hyundai Tucson. It's just not styled to explicitly emphasize its boxiness anymore.

Best-selling cars by class (asterisks denote a new winner compared to the previous month): Subcompact cars: Kia Soul Compact cars: Honda Civic Midsize cars: Toyota Camry Large cars: Chevrolet Impala Entry-luxury cars: BMW 3-Series* Luxury cars: Mercedes-Benz E-Class* Compact crossovers/SUVs: Ford Escape* Midsize crossovers/SUVs: Chevrolet Equinox Large crossovers: Ford Explorer Large SUVs: Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Entry-luxury crossovers/SUVs: Lexus RX Luxury crossovers/SUVs: BMW X5 Minivans and vans: Ford E-Series* Pickups: Ford F-Series Full top-10 sales charts for each class at link: http://www.examiner.com/article/best-selling-cars-of-june-2012-and-the-first-half-of-2012-by-class

Top-20 best seller charts for the month and the first half of the year: http://www.examiner.com/article/top-20-best-selling-cars-of-june-2012-and-the-first-half-of-2012 By the way, the VW news release posted earlier is for the wrong year. The Jetta didn't have an especially strong month -- 13k, which is quite good by VW's old standards but not what it's been up to more recently.