Hello, I was hoping to get some intelligent responses in regard to the safety of a 2006 Dodge Stratus sedan. Edmunds.com reports the NHTSA Ratings as follows:
Passenger: 5 stars
Driver: 5 stars
Side Impact Front: 3 stars
Side Impact Rear: 3 stars
Rollover Rating: 5 stars
I am concerned about the side impact ratings since my son is in the car with me often. Is the 3 star rating something to be concerned about?
Thanks!
The 2006 Dodge Stratus is considered a safe car, inasmuch there are no particular complaints against it in this regard.
A three-star rating is nothing to be concerned about. By the way, the car may have been tested without the optional side airbags. NHTSA is funny that way, and its results are often misleading. If two similar models are tested, one that comes with standard side airbags and one with optional airbags, NHTSA makes no attempt to level the playing field. The second will be tested without the option and will receive a lower safety rating. The prudent buyer will of course order the airbag option and may wind up with a car that is actually safer than its higher-rated competitor.
Does this particular 2006 Stratus come with the side airbag option? If so, hooray! It actually deserves a 5-star rating. If not, this shortcoming would not deter me from buying it but you may have your own ideas of course.
Thanks for the reply!
No, I don’t believe it has side airbags.
Yeah, I would like it if this car had a “5” for side impact, but I guess “3” will do. I do my best to be an observant and defensive driver, but you still never know. But, like anything else in life, there’s no garantee that any car will be 100% safe.
It is far safer than my 1970 Bug and it survived being T-boned with two of my children and a friend in the back seat. The kid running the stop sign did not even slow down. My daughter was slightly injured. I suspect she may have had less injury in the Dodge.
It is not a bad car and is far better than any car most of us hear grew up in or in the case of many of us raised our kids in. I would not worry.
The IIHS considers it extremely unsafe. Check this URL:
http://www.iihs.org/brochures/ictl/ictl_4dr.html
Note that this data is for 2002-2005. I doubt that it changed for 2006, though. Call your insurer and see what they think. The data at the site listed above is for all insurers in the USA, and is normalized. A value of 100 is average, and higher is worse. At a value of 159 for injury, it is near the bottom of the list. Half the small cars rate a 159 or better.