Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said Toyota needs work to perform better in crash test

ARLINGTON, Va. - The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released its latest crash tests, and found moderately priced midsize cars outperformed most of their luxury counterparts. The Institute did challenging frontal crash tests on 2013 models.

The agency conducted a small overlap test that replicates what happens when the front corner of a car hits another vehicle or an object like a tree or utility pole. In the test, 25 percent of the car's front end on the driver's side hits a 5-foot tall rigid barrier at 40 miles per hour. There is a crash test dummy in the driver's seat.

"It is remarkable that this group of midsize family cars did so much better than the midsize luxury car group," said Adrian Lund, IIHS president. "The difference is stunning. Thirteen of these midsize cars can offer better crash protection than all but three of their luxury counterparts, and at a price that's easier on the wallet."

2013 TOP SAFETY PICK+ midsize moderately priced cars:
- Dodge Avenger
- Ford Fusion
- Honda Accord 2-door
- Honda Accord 4-door
- Kia Optima
- Nissan Altima 4-door
- Subaru Legacy
- Subaru Outback
- Suzuki Kizashi
- Volkswagen Passat

2013 TOP SAFETY PICK+ midsize luxury / near-luxury cars:
- Acura TL
- Volvo S60

IIHS said Toyota fell short
You'll find Accord, Altima and Fusion on the list of TOP SAFETY PICK+ winners, but you won't find Toyota. The Camry is the top-selling midsize car in the United States. The Camry and Prius v, a 4-door hybrid wagon, both earned poor ratings in the small overlap protection test and were the worst performers of the midsize group. The Institute said the Camry was redesigned for 2012, and the Prius v is a new model.

In the Camry, the impact shoved the front wheel back into the footwell. As a result, the windshield pillar bent and the parking brake pedal was pushed into the driver's survival space.

"Toyota engineers have a lot of work to do to match the performance of their competitors," Lund said.