Let me start today's blog by being super clear:  I struggled with how to word the title of my blog today and didn't mean to confuse anyone.  The title, if you are sitting there, scratching your head wondering what I'm talking about, refers to the Chevy Sonic's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) crash test, or more poignantly, the Sonic's first year in said test.  I'm sure you realize now... the Sonic won!

Though I would never think "the Sonic won" would suffice, before I tell you the score it received I need to make one thing clear:  the 2011 NHTSA's tests were set up to be the most stringent ever conceived.  All testing areas were revised which naturally made it much more difficult to earn the top score of five stars.

So as not to keep you in suspense, the 2012 Chevy Sonic did in fact get an overall 5-star rating, although it got top marks in two of three areas and a well-above-average 4-star rating in the third test.  You might have remembered from Chris' blog "The 2012 Camaro is fast... but is it safe?" blog from November 30, 2011, he mentioned the Camaro was (and still is mind you) the only car from the 2011/2012 model year and 2011 NHTSA testing year to get a full 5-stars in all categories.  All the same, the Malibu and Volt also received a 5-star overall rating, making it a banner year for Chevrolet and safety.

To get back to the Sonic, having driven around in a few different versions from the Sonic LT sedan to the Sonic LTZ hatchback, it's really not a big surprise; carrying around front driver and passenger dual stage air bags, seat mounted side air bags, and side curtain air bags (10 airbags in total, standard on all models!), saying that safety is packed into this subcompact vehicle is an understatement.  In fact the real surprise is that they did pack so many in - for the life of me I cannot figure out how they did it in such a tight package with so much room inside!

The list of safety features doesn't end with the airbag count however as the Sonic houses vehicle rollover sensors which deploy the side curtain air bags if it senses that a rollover is imminent.  Front seat seatbelt pre-tensioners, another standard feature, keep occupants from moving too far forward, preventing a head injury, or backward, preventing whiplash or worse, in an accident, while GM's StabiliTrak electronic vehicle stability control is employed to help keep an accident from happening in the first place.  If it does, OnStar is ready to issue emergency responders in a heartbeat, and you'll have a three-month trial to the Directions and Connections plan to boot.

All in all, this is one impressively safe little car... and impressive beyond safety.  I dislike the preconceived notion that you need a large, gas slurping vehicle in order to be safe, so it makes me happy when small cars get excellent crash test ratings.

For more on the Chevy Sonic, check out our currently loaded inventory or build your own.  You can also fill out a CarFinder form and tell us exactly which color, options, and body style you want and we'll notify you for one to 8 weeks when they arrive on our lot!  If you'd rather, give us a call today, fill out a test drive form online, or simply send us an email and our eTeam will help you find the Sonic of your dreams.

Brian Leedy
Handy Chevrolet
St. Albans, VT  05478