Chevy Sonic earns five-star safety rating

The Chevy Sonic - both sedan and hatchback models - earned five-star safety ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this week. A five-star rating is the highest possible rating a vehicle can receive after frontal and side crash tests and rollover resistance training. 


The Chevy Sonic comes standard with 10 airbags - front, side and curtain - stability and traction control, and a heavy-duty steel frame. More features are listed below via General Motors. 


Come to Team Auto Group today and test drive a sedan or hatchback model. We have a variety of colors available - red, orange, gray, black... and some fully loaded, some basic. You can also call and make an appointment to come out and see one - 704-216-8000. 

Watch the crash video


From GM:

The Sonic is designed to help drivers avoid crashes, while protecting occupants in a crash. Sonic offers an exceptionally strong body structure through the incorporation of a single welded side ring unit and more than 60 percent of the vehicle safety cage consisting of high-strength steel. Other standard safety features include:

• Driver and front passenger dual-stage frontal air bags, seat-mounted side pelvic/thorax air bags, knee air bags and head curtain side air bags with rollover protection that cover front and outboard rear seating rows. The Sonic also has side impact air bags in the outboard rear seating positions for a total of ten standard air bags.
• Rollover sensors, which can activate the head-curtain side air bags if sensors determine an imminent rollover. In a rollover, the air bags stay inflated longer to provide increased occupant protection.
• StabiliTrak electronic stability control helps the driver maintain control by comparing the path being steered by the driver with the actual response and, when necessary, applying the brakes or adjusting the throttle or a combination of both.
• Power-assisted front disc and rear drum brakes with ABS, full-function traction control and panic brake assist that activates when an emergency braking maneuver is detected. The system automatically develops additional brake pressure to more quickly engage ABS
• Front safety belt pretensioners to reduce forward occupant movement and load-limiting retractors to help manage forces during a collision
• OnStar, which features the Automatic Crash Response System that uses GPS and cellular phone technology to automatically call for help in the event that a crash is detected.

Starting with 2011 models, NHTSA introduced tougher tests and more rigorous requirements for its 5-star ratings that provide more information about safety feature performance and crash-avoidance technologies. Changes included a new side pole test simulating a 20-mph side-impact crash into a 10-inch-diameter pole or tree at a 75-degree angle just behind the A-pillar on the driver’s side.