For the 1995 model year, General Motors redesigned its bread-and-butter Chevy midsize and compact sedans. The midsize Lumina would see a safety glow-up, going from one of the least safe 1994 midsize sedans to one of the safest for '95. The Cavalier, on the other hand, seemed to phone it in on safety. '
Personal anecdote time: It was hard for me to make this post. I took my driver's ed lessons in a 2000 Chevy Cavalier (over 15 years before this was posted) so the car had a pivotal role in my life. But facts are facts, and the fact is, the 1995-2005 Cavalier's safety sucked. Especially later in its production run.
1995 Cavalier IIHS front offset crash test. Yes, this wasn't good even by 1995 standards - and the 2005 Cavalier would perform just as bad.
The 1995 Cavalier sedan received 3 stars, bordering on 4, out of 5 for both occupants in the NHTSA full-frontal test, with a severe injury risk of 21% for each occupant.
In the IIHS offset, the same 1995 Cavalier sedan earned a Poor rating, the lowest possible; the structure collapsed, and the dummy flailed around the cabin, hitting its head on the door sill. The dummy was at a high risk of serious leg injuries and an elevated risk of head injuries.
When NHTSA tested the 1997 Cavalier coupe in its then-new side-impact test, it earned only 1 star for the driver and 2 for the rear passenger; forces on the driver dummy's torso were higher than in any other vehicle tested, and both occupants also risked serious head injuries.
The sedan, tested as a 1998, also earned 1 star for the driver and 3 for the rear passenger in this test, with the caveat that the rear passenger would have likely suffered fatal head injuries (the official rating at this time factored in only chest injuries, so in reality, both dummies should have been firmly in the 1-star range). The 1998 Cavalier sedan was one of only two vehicles ever tested in the NHTSA side-impact test where a dummy's HIC exceeded 2,000 - the rear passenger dummy's HIC in this test was 2,031. Paradoxically, the driver would have likely suffered somewhat better despite the lower rating, but would have still likely suffered from serious chest and pelvic injuries.
The side test results don't officially apply to 1995-1996 models; the results would likely be similar, if not somewhat worse.
Here's a breakdown of crash test results as of late 1997 for small cars. All are 1997 models except the Toyota Corolla, which is a 1998. In cases where multiple body styles were tested, the 4-door sedan variant is shown.
(Crash test data for many 1995-1996 small cars is more limited, and the 3rd-gen Cavalier was still early in its design cycle (3rd of 11 years on sale) in 1997.)
(Car - NHTSA full frontal stars - NHTSA side stars - IIHS offset rating)
Honda Civic - 4 stars D, 5 stars P frontal - 3 stars D, 2* stars P side - IIHS Acceptable
Toyota Corolla - 4 stars D, 4 stars P frontal - 3 stars D, 1* star P side - IIHS Acceptable
Saturn sedan - 4 stars D, 4 stars P frontal - 3 stars D, 2* stars P side - IIHS Acceptable
Ford Escort - 3 stars D, 4 stars P frontal - 3 stars D, 3 stars P side - IIHS Acceptable
Nissan Sentra - 4 stars D, 4 stars P frontal - 3 stars D, 1* star P side - IIHS Acceptable
Hyundai Elantra - 3 stars D, 3 stars P frontal - 3 stars D, 1 star P side - IIHS Acceptable
VW Jetta: 3 stars D, 3 stars P frontal - 3 stars D, 2 stars P side - IIHS Marginal
Dodge/Plymouth Neon: 4 stars D, 4 stars P frontal - 2 stars D, 2* stars P side - IIHS Poor
Kia Sephia: 4 stars D, 4 stars P frontal - 2 stars D, 1 star P side - IIHS Poor
Chevy Cavalier: 3 stars D, 3 stars P frontal - 1 star D, 1* star P side - IIHS Poor
As you can see, by 1997, the Cavalier's safety was well below average for a small car. Between the fact that it was one of only 3 cars to fail to exceed 3 stars for either occupant in the NHTSA crash test, one of only 3 cars to earn a Poor in the IIHS offset, and the only car that got a 1-star rating for the driver (and rear passenger) in the NHTSA crash test, it was the worst performer out of 10 popular small cars on the market in 1997. If you were a General Motors loyalist and needed a compact, the smart money was on the Saturn at that time.
Surely, you'd think GM would have put some improvements into the Cavalier at this point. Other than putting in the Federally mandated depowered airbags for the 1998 model year, a 2005 Cavalier was effectively the same vehicle as the 1995. As other carmakers - and even GM, for its other mainline small car, the Saturn SL/Ion - redesigned their vehicles for the 21st century, they let the Cavalier rot.
As you can see, when it came to crash test results, the Cavalier was in a class of its own by 2005. While the depowered airbags helped to improve its NHTSA front crash test score somewhat relative to the 1995-1997 models, that's where the good news ends. The 2005 Cavalier was the only car in its class to earn a Poor IIHS rating; 12 of the 18 vehicles earned a Good rating that year! It was also the only car in its class to get 1 star in the NHTSA side impact (for both seating positions! Ouch!) They sold them at bargain-basement prices, but they were no cheaper than a two-year-old Civic, Corolla, etc - vehicles which were far more modern and far safer. The 2002-2005 Cavalier sedan had a fatality rate of 150 per million registered vehicle years - 46% worse than the small sedan average of 103, and over twice that of a Civic (74) or even GM's own Saturn Ion (67). A 2005 Cavalier may have said "2005" on the title, but its safety was more like the 1980s.
Here's the 2005 ranking of small cars. These results apply to the base-model, 4-door sedan variants with only standard safety equipment.
Toyota Corolla: 5 stars D, 5 stars P frontal - 4 stars D, 4 stars P side - IIHS Good
Hyundai Elantra: 5 stars D, 4 stars P frontal - 5 stars D, 4 stars P side - IIHS Good
Honda Civic: 5 stars D, 5 stars P frontal - 4 stars D, 4 stars P side - IIHS Good
VW Jetta: 5 stars D, 5 stars P frontal - 4 stars D, 4 stars P side - IIHS Good
VW New Beetle: 4 stars D, 4 stars P frontal - 5 stars D, 3 stars P side - IIHS Good
Subaru Impreza: 4 stars D, 5 stars P frontal - 4 stars D, unrated P side - IIHS Good
Mini Cooper: 4 stars D, 4 stars P frontal - 4 stars D, unrated P side - IIHS Good
Suzuki Aerio: 4 stars D, 3 stars P frontal - 5 stars D, 4 stars P side - IIHS Good
Ford Focus: 5 stars D, 4 stars P frontal - 3 stars D, 4 stars P side - IIHS Good
Mazda 3: 4 stars D, 4 stars P frontal - 3 stars D, 3 stars P side - IIHS Good
Chevy Cobalt: 4 stars D, 5 stars P frontal - 2 stars D, 4 stars P side - IIHS Good
Mitsubishi Lancer: 4 stars D, 4 stars P frontal - 2 stars D, 4 stars P side - IIHS Good
Saturn Ion: 5 stars D, 5 stars P frontal - 3 stars D, 4 stars P side - IIHS Acceptable
Kia Spectra: 4 stars D, 4 stars P frontal - 4 stars D, 3 stars P side - IIHS Acceptable
Suzuki Forenza: 4 stars D, 4 stars P frontal - 3 stars D, 3 stars P side - IIHS Acceptable
Nissan Sentra: 4 stars D, 4 stars P frontal - 2 stars D, unrated P side - IIHS Acceptable
Dodge Neon: 4 stars D, 4 stars P frontal - 3 stars D, 3 stars P side - IIHS Marginal
Chevy Cavalier: 4 stars D, 4 stars P frontal - 1 star D, 1* star P side - IIHS Poor
*Marked down for HIC. Official rating is 3 stars.
^Marked down for HIC. Official rating is 4 stars.
# Marked down for HIC. Official rating is 5 stars.
NOTE: Ratings are as given, except that if a vehicle exceeded a HIC of 1,000 in the side impact its rating is listed as 2 stars, if the HIC exceeded 1,300 it's listed as 1 star. The Mazda Protege and Mitsubishi Mirage are not included as side-impact data that applies to the 1997 model was not available.
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