Attention All Auto Body Technicians! Check Out the Top 3 Safest Cars of 2016

Car accidents are common, so it’s no surprise that safety is one of the primary concerns of people looking to buy an automobile. In your career as a mechanic, you may encounter people who look to you for guidance toward the safest models on the market. In this situation, you can turn to The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) annual report, which lists the safety test scores for each car model inspected that year.

In 2016, all car models that received an IIHS “Top Safety Pick+” (TSP+) rating achieved “good ratings in the five crashworthiness tests,” and advanced or superior ratings for front crash prevention. While 48 cars achieved this rating in 2016, we’ll only be highlighting three models, each from a different category.

The 2016 Toyota Prius Is the Safest Small Car Auto Body Repair Technicians Will See

Many small cars performed well on the various crash safety tests the IIHS uses, but the 2016 Toyota Prius went above and beyond by scoring a “Good +” rating for child seat anchors. Other small cars achieved only an “Acceptable” rating for that category, or worse.

The Prius’ optional “Safety Sense P” feature is what pushed the vehicle over the top to a “Top Safety Pick+” rating. An alert goes off when the Prius detects potential for a collision in front, and the car also succeeded in automatically braking at 19 km/h and 40 km/h when an imminent collision was detected.

While no car is completely safe from getting in accidents, the Prius’ features do a lot to improve its odds of staying safe. In your mechanic career, you can expect to see fewer of these cars in for repairs after an accident than cars without its safety features.

The 2016 Toyota Avalon Is the Only Large Car Rated TSP+ This Year

Most size categories include several cars with a TSP+ rating, so professionals in auto body technician careers may be surprised to learn that in 2016, only one large car received that distinction: the Toyota Avalon.

Though the Avalon doesn’t have child seat anchors that are as easy to use as those in the Prius, it does perform better for side protection. Where Priuses received only “Acceptable” ratings for torso and pelvis/leg injury measures, the Avalon scored “good” ratings for both.

It’s important to note that even though the Avalon is quite safe for its occupants, that won’t necessarily translate into less damage to the vehicle. You may still end up doing extensive repair work on this model in your career.

Auto Body Repair Technicians Know the 2017 Kia Sorento Is a Safe Midsize SUV

If you’re considering becoming an auto body repair technician, you may know that SUVs are generally quite safe. In a head-on collision, an SUV with a lower safety rating will often provide better protection than a smaller car with a higher rating. That means an SUV that scores highly for safety will offer pretty great protection for a driver.

In the midsize category, the top safety pick currently available is the 2017 Kia Sorento. It’s one of only two models to receive a “Good” rating for all crash tests, a “Superior” rating for crash avoidance, and an “Acceptable” rating for child seat anchors. The other model to achieve identical ratings is the 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport.

Future mechanics may also be interested in the Sorento’s “Hill-Start Assist Control,” which helps keep a car from rolling down a hill when it begins to accelerate after being stopped. Similar features are being added to many automatic vehicles, and could lead to a slight reduction in the number of cars you’ll see in your work that need minor repairs for damage to the front or rear.

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