But the 2012 Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Lexus IS 250/350, Audi A4 and Lexus ES 350 earned "poor" ratings.
The 2012 Infiniti G earned an "acceptable" rating, while the Acura TSX, BMW 3 Series, Lincoln MKZ and Volkswagen CC get "marginal" ratings, the IIHS said on Tuesday.
The test results may be disconcerting to consumers because only three of the 11 midsize and near-luxury cars evaluated earn good or acceptable ratings in the new crash test.
"Structurally, the Volvo S60 was the best" among cars tested, the IIHS said. The Lexus IS had "up to 10 times as much occupant compartment intrusion as the Volvo," test results revealed.
"When the Volkswagen CC was put to the test, the driver door was sheared off its hinges," the IIHS noted. "The CC is the first vehicle the Institute has ever evaluated to completely lose its door." The Audi A4's door opened during the test, but "remained attached to the car."
The new test is designed "to replicate what happens when the front corner of a car collides with another vehicle or an object like a tree or utility pole," the IIHS said in a statement.
"Outside of some automakers' proving grounds, such a test isn't currently conducted anywhere else in the United States or Europe," said the IIHS, which calls the test "the next step in improving frontal crash protection.
The new test was initiated in response to the fact that there are "more than 10,000 deaths in frontal crashes each year," the IIHS said.
"Small overlap crashes are a major source of these fatalities," said Adrian Lund, Institute president, in a statement. "This new test program is based on years of analyzing real-world frontal crashes and then replicating them in our crash test facility to determine how people are being seriously injured and how cars can be designed to protect them better."
Inside Line says: As automakers make adjustments to vehicles so that they will perform better in this new test, experts expect the safety additions will add more to the bottom line.
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