Nissan’s 2016 Maxima has earned top crashworthiness honors from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The eight-generation ‘four-door sports car’ received ‘good’ ratings in every crash scenario, along with a ‘superior’ assessment for front crash prevention. The strong all-around performance was deemed worthy of a Top Safety Pick+ award.
The structure was well optimized for the challenging small-overlap test, with maximum intrusion of 12 cm measured at the parking brake pedal. Dummy measurements point to a low risk of serious injuries, despite a risk of head contact with the forward structure.
In contrast, the seventh-generation Maxima received ‘acceptable’ ratings in two crash tests, disqualifying the car from earning Top Safety Pick status. In the small-overlap test, intrusion reached 22 cm at the hinge pillar and the steering column was pushed back 7 cm toward the driver.
Interestingly, the older Maxima received a ‘good’ mark in for restraints and dummy kinematics in the small overlap test, but earned a lower rating overall due to structural deformation. The 2016 model proved to have a stronger structure, contributing to the ‘good’ rating overall, but showed poorer performance in the subcategory related to dummy movement.
The IIHS has implemented tougher criteria for 2016-model-year cars, requiring ‘good’ overall ratings in all crash categories and an ‘advanced’ or ‘superior’ assessment for automatic emergency braking.
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