The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has announced that for the second consecutive year the Toyota Corolla compact sedan and Scion xB have each earned “Top Safety Pick” awards.

The “Top Safety Pick” is the highest safety designation awarded by the IIHS. To qualify for the award, a vehicle must earn the highest rating of “good” in the IIHS’ front, side, rollover, and rear impact tests and be equipped with electronic stability control. The IIHS testing was made more stringent in 2010 with the addition of the rollover test, but it did not stop the Corolla and xB from capturing their second consecutive “Top Safety Pick.”

“’Top Safety Pick’ recognizes the vehicles that afford buyers the best overall protection in common crashes,” says IIIHS president Adrian Lund. “With more top performers, there’s no reason to buy a small car with less than stellar crash test ratings.”

The IIHS is an independent non-profit research and communications organization funded by auto insurance companies.

To earn a “good” rollover rating, a roof must be able to support the equivalent of four times the vehicle’s weight compared with the current federal standard of 1.5. In the IIHS testing, the xB’s roof withstood a force equal to 6.8 times its vehicle weight. The Corolla’s weight withstood 5.1 times its vehicle weight.

All Toyota and Scion models meet or exceed the safety requirements of the federal government and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Source: http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/2010-toyota-corolla-and-scion-154547.aspx