The first round of government crash tests for new model year 2006 passenger vehicles have resulted in five getting top honors. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently completed its first round of front and side impact crash tests on new vehicles already in dealer showrooms and found five vehicles--the Honda Odyssey minivan, the Hyundai Sonata four-door sedan, the Hyundai Tucson sport utility vehicle, the Mercedes Benz ML Class SUV, and the Subaru B9 Tribeca SUV all worthy of five-star ratings. The Pontiac G6 two-door Coupe took top honors in NHTSA’s rollover rating program.

NHTSA’s safercar.gov consumer information program uses a one to five star rating system, with five being the highest rating in both crash and rollover testing.

New model year 2006 ratings are available for 14 passenger cars, four SUVs, two vans and one pickup truck. All results, including previously tested model year vehicles, are available at the agency’s web site: www.safercar.gov.

New 2006 ratings for frontal impact are available for the Chevrolet Impala four-door, Ford Fusion four-door, Hyundai Sonata four-door, Hyundai Tucson utility vehicle, Infiniti QX56 utility vehicle, Kia Rio four-door, Lincoln Zephyr four-door, Mercedes-Benz ML Class utility vehicle, Mercury Milan four-door, Mitsubishi Lancer four-door, Nissan Armada utility vehicle, Pontiac Grand Prix four-door, Subaru B9 Tribeca utility vehicle, Toyota Scion xB four-door and Volkswagen new Passat four-door.

New model year 2006 ratings for side impact are available for the Chevrolet Cobalt four-door, Chevrolet Impala four-door, Dodge Dakota pickup, Ford Freestar minivan, Honda Odyssey minivan, Hyundai Sonata four-door, Hyundai Tucson utility vehicle, Kia Rio four-door, Mercedes-Benz ML Class utility vehicle, Mercury Monterey minivan, Subaru B9 Tribeca utility vehicle, Toyota Scion xB four-door and Volkswagen new Passat four-door.

New model year 2006 rollover ratings are available for the BMW 3-series four-door, Cadillac DTS four-door, Chevrolet Cobalt four-door, Chevrolet Impala four-door, Ford Fusion four-door, Honda Civic two-door and four-door, Hyundai Sonata four-door, Kia Rio four-door, Lincoln Zephyr four-door, Mercedes ML-Class utility vehicle, Mercury Milan four-door, Pontiac G6 two-door, Toyota Scion xB four-door and Volkswagen new Passat four-door.