Toyota’s all-new 2014 Toyota Corolla compact sedan has received a Marginal rating in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s demanding small overlap frontal crash test.

 
Although one step above the IIHS’ lowest “Poor” rating, the Corolla’s performance marks a continuation of Toyota’s difficulties with the test – several of the automaker’s recent models, including the 2013, Camry, Prius V and RAV4, have been rated as Poor.

 

Toyota’s highest ranked vehicle, the Scion tC, earned an Acceptable mark.

 

During the course of the test, which simulates a collision at 40 mph with a solid, immovable barrier impacting 25 percent of the vehicle’s front end (similar to hitting a telephone pole), the driver’s space in the Corolla was seriously compromised.

 

The results showed that an equivalent real-world crash could potentially result in significant injuries to the driver’s lower right leg, and that the driver’s head would be susceptible to contact with the A-Pillar and dashboard due to the impact shifting the steering wheel and its airbag to the right.

 

Despite the Corolla’s flop in the small overlap test, its strong showing in the IIHS’ other tests mean it will still receive the institute’s second-highest rating of Top Safety Pick. The Top Safety Pick+ rating is reserved only for cars with small overlap scores of Acceptable or Good.

 

In a recent IIHS test of the Corolla’s competition in the compact segment, half of the twelve models tested – including vehicles like the Dodge Dart, Hyundai Elantra, Honda Civic and Ford Focus – earned the Top Safety Pick+ designation.

 

Back in August, Toyota pledged to address its models’ struggles in the small overlap with a series of engineering updates.

 

“Each vehicle has its own countermeasure schedule,” Osamu Nagata, CEO of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Inc, said at the time. “As soon as designs are ready and parts are fixed, we’ll have running changes for any vehicle [that performed poorly.]”

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The EPA has published efficiency ratings for the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra’s range-topping 6.2-liter V8.

 
Like the GM pickups’ other new “EcoTec” engines, the big eight combines an old-fashioned pushrod design with modern technologies like direct-injection, variable valve timing and cylinder deactivation. The result is 420 horsepower, 460 lb-ft of torque and fuel economy of 15 mpg in the city and 21 mpg on the highway.

 

Opt for four-wheel-drive, and mileage falls to 14/20 mpg. A six-speed automatic handles shifting duties for all Siverado and Sierra models. 

 

To put those numbers in context, the Ram 1500’s 395 horsepower, 410 lb-ft of torque 5.7-liter HEMI V8 is rated just slightly higher – 15/22 mpg – with an eight-speed automatic. The Ford F-150’s 6.2-liter V8 churns out 411 ponies and 434 lb-ft while returning only 13/18 mpg.

 

The 6.2-liter will be offered as a $1,995 option on Silverado LTZ and High Country trims along with GMC Sierra and Denali models, with sales expected to begin later this fall.

Photos by Andrew Ganz. <![CDATA[
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