Bumpers on 4 new vehicles fall short in tests

ARLINGTON, Virginia (CNN) -- Four new vehicle models -- three small cars and a minivan -- have poorly designed bumper systems that result in major damage in low-speed crashes, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Bumpers on the new Mitsubishi Lancer, Subaru Impreza, Volvo S40 and Kia Sedona minivan were far from adequate in 5-mph crash tests, said Adrian Lund, the institute's chief operating officer.

"Bumpers that bump apparently weren't a consideration during the design phase" of the three small cars, Lund said. "Designing good bumpers is no great engineering challenge ... but unless this is a priority we're going to continue seeing many manufacturers using inferior designs."

Total damage on the three cars ranged from $2,515 to $3,169 in the four tests -- front- and rear-into-flat-barrier, front-into-angle-barrier and rear-into-pole. Lund compared the results with those of 1998 models of Volkswagen's new Beetle, which sustained only about $200 total damage on all four tests.

"As Volkswagen demonstrated," Lund said, "automakers know how to design good bumpers."

As for the minivan, Lund said, the Sedona had "the worst performance of any minivan we've tested."

"The Sedona's bumpers simply failed -- the plastic bar cracked in all four tests and the bumper cover had to be replaced after three of the four tests," he said. "The worst result was the airbag deployment in the flat-barrier test. This shouldn't happen."

Airbags should not deploy at speeds of less than 12 to 14 mph because they are unnecessary at lower speeds, cost too much to repair and are potentially dangerous. But the Sedona's airbags went into action upon a 5 mph impact.

The Sedona sustained nearly $10,000 in total damage on the four tests -- more than $4,000 on the front-into-flat-barrier test alone. In the rear-into-pole tests, the van's tailgate and rear body panels were damaged beyond repair.

The tests on the Lancer, Impreza and S40 were the first conducted by the institute on 2002 model small cars. Of earlier models tested, only the 2000 Ford Focus did as poorly as the three new models. On the four crash tests, the Focus sustained $2,932 in damage.

The Sedona was the first 2002 minivan tested as well. Its $9,747 in damage is well above the $5,856 sustained by 1996 models of the Chevrolet Astro and GMC Safari, previously the worst performers on the institute's list.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is a nonprofit organization funded by auto insurers to research and report on issues relating to highway safety.