Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute Siblings Receive Good Side Impact Rating Too

Have you ever asked yourself the question, "What matters most in life?" If youve just survived a motor vehicle accident the answer might simply be life itself.

Of course, most of us havent had our priorities shaken up so dramatically. When buying a new car, rather than opting for ABS brakes and side impact airbags, if not already standard or for that matter even offered, we just cant live without that fancy wheel and tire upgrade or

When buying a new car, sometimes safety features are overlooked when compared to flashy luxury features. (Photo: Subaru)

Of the myriad of compact sport utility vehicles currently on the market, only three have been

The Ford Escape, Subaru Forester, and Mazda Tribute are the only compact SUVs to receive a good side impact rating by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. (Photo: Ford Motor Company)

What makes them so special? Side impact airbags, standard on the Subaru and optional on the Ford and Mazda SUVs

The Subaru Forester was the only one tested with standard side impact airbags, which made all the difference in test performance. (Photo: Subaru)

The IIHS grades new vehicles with good, adequate, marginal and poor scores for frontal impact, side impact, head restraint and bumpers. So with that in mind, how did the others fare?

Of note, the Hyundai Santa Fe with side airbags was the best of the rest with an adequate rating, much higher than the marginal (M) or poor (P) rated Chevrolet Tracker (P), Jeep Wrangler (M), Honda CR-V(M) and Element (P), Mitsubishi Outlander (P), Saturn VUE (P),

The expensive Land Rover Freelander placed among the worst performers with its poor rating. (Photo: Ford Motor Company)

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