2014 SUBARU FORESTER ACES TOUGH NEW CRASH TEST; EARNS NEW IIHS 2013 TOP SAFETY PICK+ RATING

Subaru of America, Inc. today announced that the all-new 2014 Forester has received a Top Safety Pick+ (TSP+) award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The 2014 Subaru Forester is the first vehicle to ace every aspect of the challenging small overlap front crash test conducted by the IIHS. The Forester is the only one of 13 small SUVs to earn an overall rating of good in the test. This is not the first time that the Forester has stood out in a new IIHS crash test. When the Institute first rated small SUVs for side protection in 2003, the Subaru model performed the best and was one of only two vehicles to earn good ratings.

“With the redesigned Forester, Subaru’s engineers set out to do well in our new test, and they succeeded,” says Joe Nolan, the Institute’s vice president for vehicle research. “This is exactly how we hoped manufacturers would respond to improve protection for people in these kinds of serious frontal crashes.”

This award builds on Subaru’s safety reputation and is the first IIHS designation for 2014 model year Subaru vehicles. Subaru is the only manufacturer with 2013 IIHS Top Safety Pick for all models and the only brand with IIHS Top Safety Picks for all models for four years running (2010-2013). The 2014 Forester is the third Subaru vehicle to earn the TSP+ award. The 2013 Subaru Legacy and Subaru Outback (built after August 2012) were awarded the Institute’s 2013 TSP+ designation in late-2012. The award requires a “Good” or “Acceptable” rating in the Institute’s new small overlap frontal crash test in addition to meeting the base “TSP” award criteria.

"Safety is one of our brand tenets and so we are extremely proud to have earned a TSP+ rating for Forester and a third Top Safety Pick + rating for our brand," said Thomas J. Doll, president and chief operating officer, Subaru of America, Inc. “The Forester is the most award winning small SUV in America and now we have another designation for this venerable vehicle.”