Informedforlife question: outback and mazda Cx-5

We are in the market for a second car seat-friendly vehicle. We are considering Subaru Outback and Mazda Cx-5. I'm trying to use informedforlife website (recommended on the blog) to narrow down our search, but because we are probably buying a year or more used, it is difficult.

Even though the models are supposedly unchanged between different years (outback 2011 or 2012 vs 2013 or 2014; and newer vs older Mazda), the safety ratings are top 3%/recommended, versus not recommended. I can't figure out why in these specific cases. I understand that generally, equipment or newer crash test results may change ratings, but I'm not sure how to track this information down to determine whether the older vehicles are comparable as equipped.

Can anyone explain this?
 
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cantabdad

New member
Informed for Life is a great place to start your research because it puts a lot of data in front of you. However, as you've discovered, its recommendations can also be hard to decipher -- the rating system that it uses is such that a seemingly small change in just one or two test results can make a big difference in its overall rating.

It looks like in the case of the Outback, the 2011 and 2012 models only received a 4-star overall rating in NHTSA testing (including 4-star results on the frontal and side tests). While 4 out of 5 stars sounds like a decent rating, the Informed for Life opinion (which I mostly agree with) is that so many cars are able to achieve a 5-star rating, that it really makes sense to look for those where possible and not settle for less.

With the 2013 model, even though I had previously viewed this as mostly a cosmetic 'refresh' to the Outback, apparently enough of the structure changed to get it a 5-star rating in NHTSA testing (including 5 stars on both frontal and side). It also earned an 'Acceptable' score on the IIHS small overlap test. So by Informed for Life's metrics, based on these scores and vehicle size/type, it is a recommended vehicle.

Similar story for the Mazda CX-5, I believe -- this was a new model for Mazda in 2013, and then it got some seemingly minor upgrades in 2014 that improved its NHTSA and IIHS scores and pushed it into a new category for Informed for Life.

We have an Outback and like it -- it's an all-round practical vehicle that's good in the snow and has plenty of space for kids and their stuff. Just looking quickly online, there does not seem to be an enormous price premium for the 2013s over the 2012s, especially if you can live without the top trim level (leather seats, etc.).
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
Informed For Life used to have a great system of integrating data from various sources to produce a unique overall rating. They stopped doing this a few years ago and to be honest, I think it's not really worth the added confusion like you discovered. Weight seems to have become a more important factor and so larger models dominate their ratings because heavier cars tend to have an advantage in head-on crashes with another car. This is sad in some sense, because weight is not a significant advantage in side impacts, rear-impacts and one-vehicle crashes. Plus, because more mass on the road means more energy in crashes and lower overall fuel economy, it is inherently a bad thing to encourage heavier vehicles in general.

My advice is pretty simple. Look for models that at least earn "Acceptable" ratings in the three IIHS crash tests: moderate overlap, small overlap and side impact. Also, look for models that earn at least 4-Stars in the NHTSA crash tests, frontal (driver and passenger), side (front seat, rear seat and pole). Avoiding models that earn "Marginal"/"Poor" or "3-star" or lower ratings in any of these key crash tests is a great start.

To weed the pack out even more, require the vehicles to earn at least a "Top Safety Pick" and an NHTSA "5-star" overall rating.

I think both models you are considering will be very safe choices! If you can find an Outback with Eyesight, that would be my personal preference:)
 

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