Because no one buys a sports car to drive in the slow lane, the best all-­ around occupant crash protection is crucial.

IIHS evaluated 2016 models of the Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Challenger and Ford Mustang in the full battery of crashworthiness evaluations.

IIHS doesn’t typically crash-­test sports cars as they make up a small share of the consumer market. IIHS engineers decided to evaluate these models with optional V-­8 engines because they are big sellers in their class, and consumers often ask how they would perform in crash tests.
Insurance data point to high losses for sports cars. As a group, they have the highest losses among passenger vehicles for crash damage repairs under collision coverage, data from the Highway Loss Data Institute show. Collision coverage insures against physical damage to the at-­fault policyholder’s vehicle in a crash.

The Camaro, Challenger and Mustang all earn good ratings for occupant protection in a moderate overlap front crash and side impact. In the Institute’s newest and toughest crashworthiness evaluation, the small overlap front test, the Camaro earns a good rating, the Mustang earns acceptable, and the Challenger is rated marginal.