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2016 Fiat 500X Earns IIHS Top Safety Pick+, First Fiat to Get This Title

Nobody could hold anything against you for calling the Fiat 500X the European cousin of the Jeep Renegade. And while the junior Jeep hasn’t been tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety yet, the Italian take on the platform has just earned the Top Safety Pick+ accolade.
2016 Fiat 500X IIHS crash test 1 photo
Photo: screenshot from Youtube
Sure, Fiat’s US history has pretty large gaps, but we can still call the 500X the carmaker’s first model to have earned the IIHS’ top title.

The 500X managed to receive top marks across the board, receiving a “Good” rating, the highest one available, for all the crash tests. And yes, this means the compact crossover has managed to ace the small overlap frontal impact test, a challenge that catches many big names out.

OK, got it, but what about the negative bits of the crash test session?

Of course, nobody’s perfect - the generous ground clearance 500 lost some points in the optional crash-prevention area. Instead of grabbing the top “Superior” rating, the Fiat grabbed the “Advanced” rating.

The 500X has an optional front crash prevention system that earns an advanced rating. In the Institute's 12 mph track test, a 500X equipped with the system avoided a collision in 4 out of 5 runs. In the 25 mph test, the impact speed was reduced by 5 mph. The system also has a forward collision warning function that meets criteria set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “ the safety body explains.

Sure, when a series of serious crash tests is described in such a fashion, it might sound like things went pretty smoothly. But the cold, hard reality of such crash tests can be easily described by the footage released by the IIHS.

Hit (no pun intended) the “play” button below to see the Fiat 500X taking a serious pounding and holding its own against the official crash test structures.

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About the author: Andrei Tutu
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In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist.
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