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IIHS:Small Cars Damage Repair Costs in 5MPH Crash Tests

Bumpers should protect car bodies from damage in low-speed collisions, the kind that frequently occur in congested urban traffic. But many don't. The Institute conducts four 5 mph crash tests to assess bumper performance: front-into-flat-barrier, rear-into-flat-barrier, front-into-angle-barrier, and rear-into-pole. Vehicles are listed in alphabetical order by manufacturer.

NOTE: Repair costs are as of January 2002. Where two or more models are grouped together on the same line, bumper tests were conducted on the model listed first.

  Front
into
flat
barrier
Rear
into
flat
barrier
Front
into
angle
barrier
Rear
into
pole
All
four
tests

Average
damage
per test

DODGE/PLYMOUTH NEON 
2000 models $385 $93 $444 $1,201 $2,123 $531
1997 models $151 $104 $390 $607 $1,252 $313
FORD FOCUS 
2000 models $33 $1,229 $640 $1,030 $2,932 $733
1997 Escort models $291 $188 $876 $774 $2,129 $532
HONDA CIVIC 
2001 models $439 $561 *$428 $322 $1,750 $438
1997 models $66 $109 $954 $546 $1,675 $419
HYUNDAI ELANTRA 
2001 models$258$0$425$187$870$218
1999 models $573 $44 $1,240 $8 $1,865 $466
1997 models $287 $405 $840 $1,784 $3,316 $829
KIA SEPHIA 
1999 models $0 $447 $742 $1,307 $2,496 $624
1997 models $380 $447 $824 $1,421 $3,134 $784

MAZDA PROTEGE

 

2000 models

**$204 $367 **$1,095 $538 **$2,204 $551

1999 models

$204 $693 $1,095 $2,583 $4,575 $1,144
1997 models $658 $162 $529 $722 $2,071 $518
MITSUBISHI LANCER      
2002 models $347 $522 $1,224 $1,011 $3,104 $776
MITSUBISHI MIRAGE      
1997 models $662 $263 $993 $1,107 $3,025 $756
NISSAN SENTRA 
2000 models $302 $327 $1,169 $327 $2,125 $531
1998 models $484 $0 $785 $59 $1,328 $332
SATURN SL      
1997 models $126 $78 $580 $0 $784 $196
SUBARU IMPREZA       
2002 models $413 $456 $1,040 $606 $2,515 $629
TOYOTA COROLLA
CHEVROLET PRIZM
      
1998 models $0 $381 $289 $274 $944 $236
VOLKSWAGEN NEW BEETLE      

1998 models

$19 $0 $190 $0 $209 $52
VOLKSWAGEN JETTA 
1999 models $151 $52 $747 $188 $1,138 $285
1997 models $169 $0 $859 $269 $1,297 $324
VOLVO S40       
2002 models $406 $435 $1,116 $1,212 $3,169 $792

*At Honda's request, the front-into-angle-barrier impact was repeated for the Civic. Results were identical ($428 damage).

**Front end of the 2000 Protege was not tested. Because no significant changes to the front bumper system were made between the 1999 and 2000 models, it was assumed that the 1999 front-into-flat-barrier and front-into-angle-barrier damage results are also applicable to the 2000 model.

Other low-speed results
• Small cars frontal offset crash tests summary


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©1996-2002, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Highway Loss Data Institute
Last modified: 08-Mar-2002