2010 Subaru Legacy: 5 stars in every category from NHTSA

MISSISSAUGA, ON, Dec. 9 /CNW/ - The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has given the all-new 2010 Subaru Legacy its highest score-5 stars-in every category for protecting occupants: driver and front passenger in frontal crash testing, front and rear passenger in side crash testing, and rollover protection in the four-wheel-drive category.

NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) rates vehicles of all makes and models to determine their crash and rollover safety. Ratings are created from data collected during controlled crash and rollover tests. Only vehicles with the highest ratings receive five stars.

"This is extremely good news for both Subaru and its customers, especially since it corroborates similar top marks from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety," said Katsuhiro Yokoyama, president, chairman and CEO of SCI. "Subaru is known for its outstanding active safety-our Symmetrical full-time All-Wheel Drive System gives drivers the control to drive around trouble-but it's highly reassuring to know that drivers and families are well protected when an accident is unavoidable."

The Legacy, like all Subaru models, has consistently earned top scores in government and insurance industry crash tests. The 2010 Legacy is designed to further raise the safety quotient. Subaru's Ring-Shaped Reinforcement Frame safety structure, proven over a decade in all Subaru models, forms the foundation for crash protection and occupant safety in the new-generation 2010 Legacy.

The Ring-Shaped Reinforcement frame body structure design incorporates front and rear crumple zones to absorb the energy of an impact and help protect the passenger compartment. The structure forms a series of "rings" around the passenger compartment, providing excellent protection in a variety of collision types. This structure increases cabin rigidity and can absorb impact energy from any direction.

The compact Subaru Boxer engine helps enhance safety, because it is mounted on an angle. This allows the entire powertrain to slide under the car along the floor tunnel in a frontal collision, helping to prevent intrusion into the passenger compartment, allowing the main frame to absorb more energy from a frontal impact.

All new Subaru models incorporate pre-tensioners and load-limiters in the front three-point seatbelts. The seatbelt pre-tensioners operate simultaneously with the front air bags and cinch the front seatbelts to help restrain the driver and front passenger in their seats. Next, the mechanically operated torsion-bar load-limiters extend the belts to reduce seat belt-inflicted injuries.

The 2010 Legacy models are also equipped with the Subaru Advanced Frontal Airbag System, which employs dual-stage-deployment driver and front passenger air bags. Front seat side impact air bags provide thorax-area protection, and side curtain air bags (full side coverage) provide head protection. Mounted in the upper sides of the front seatbacks, the front seat side-impact airbags offer protection regardless of seat position. The side curtain air bags deploy from the headliner.

For further information: Elaine Griffin or Jen Giller, [phone]