A poor headlight rating came between Toyota’s US specification C-HR small SUV and an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ award, the IIHS said.
The 2018 model otherwise scored good ratings in all six IIHS crashworthiness tests and also achieved superior-rated front crash prevention.
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The Turkish built C-HR earned good ratings in the driver- and passenger-side small overlap front tests, as well as in the moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests.
It achieved a perfect score for its front crash prevention system. In IIHS track tests at 12mph and 25mph, the vehicle avoided collisions. It also had a forward collision warning component that met National Highway Traffic Safety Administration criteria.
But the C-HR’s halogen headlights fall short, providing, the IIHS said, “inadequate visibility on curves but also producing excessive glare from the low beams”.
The model’s standard high-beam assist, which automatically switches between high beams and low beams depending on the presence of other vehicles, didn’t help much, as the high beams provide little additional visibility over the low beams, the IIHS said.
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By GlobalData“If Toyota offers improved headlights that earn an acceptable rating, the C-HR will qualify for a Top Safety Pick award. With good-rated headlights, it would qualify for a Top Safety Pick+ rating,” it added.
