Annual safety ratings released

1189 Views 8 Replies 6 Participants Last post by CPSDarren, Feb 15, 2002

vquan

Discussion Starter · Jan 30, 2002

Anyone see this article on yahoo?
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20020129/bs/auto_ratings_5.html
They mention the Villager and Quest being the top rated minivans in eight catagories. Other top rated minivans are the Chrysler T&C and Pontiac Montana. Not a single mention of the Odyssey. What gives!?!

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CPSDarren

· #3 · Jan 30, 2002

In previous years, Gillis' book gave pretty specific criteria for the ratings in each category. Of course, his criteria may not match yours, so it's important to read the fine print.

For example, in the 2001 guide, one of the categories was Frontal Crash Tests, which only considered the NHTSA frontal crash results. It did not include the side crash results, IIHS offset crash results or rollover ratings. This is somewhat odd, since their section on safety did mention these other tests and include some of those ratings.

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CPSDarren

· #5 · Feb 14, 2002

I just received my copy of the 2002 Car Book, the source of this report. The Odyssey received an overall rating of "3". Sub-category ratings were:

Frontal Crash Tests: 10
Safety Features: 6
Preventive Maintenance: 2
Repair Costs: 5
Warranty: 1
Fuel Economy: 4
Rollover: 7
Complaints: 2
Insurance Costs: 10

Indeed, preventative maintenance costs, poor warranty and high complaints (compiled from the NHTSA consumer complaints database) are the downfall of the Odyssey.

Interestingly, they dock the Odyssey in Safety Features for no built-in child seat or DRLs, which is true, but also for no seatbelt pre-tensioners, which is false. Their Crash Test category does not include side crash tests or the IIHS offset crash test, where villager/quest does poorly.

The Villager/Quest were top rated, with an overall "8".

Frontal Crash Tests: 10
Safety Features: 7
Preventive Maintenance: 9
Repair Costs: 10
Warranty: 2
Fuel Econ: 3
Rollover: 5
Complaints: 5
Insurance Costs: 10

[This message has been edited by caviller (edited 02-14-2002).]

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CPSDarren

· #9 · Feb 15, 2002

I don't think the Car Book does any judgement on price or value. For that, check out Intellichoice which just released its 2002 winners:

http://www.intellichoice.com/best_value/bovyTemplate1.cfm?template=2002MiniVan.cfm

Sienna CE replaced Odyssey LX in the under $25,000 category for 2002. The 2002 Odyssey LX and EX still receive an "Excellent" overall value rating, however. See:

http://www.intellichoice.com/reports/vehicleReport.cfm?section=ownership&vhcl_nmb=9632

http://www.intellichoice.com/reports/vehicleReport.cfm?section=ownership&vhcl_nmb=9633

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