David Aylor, manager of active safety testing at IIHS, acknowledged the need to test pedestrian AEB systems at night and, as such, put eight small SUVs to the test – in full darkness at the IIHS Vehicle Research Center’s track. Each vehicle was tested twice, first performing with high-beam headlights and then low beams. Previously, the IIHS has pitted a separate group of SUVs against each other in the same test, albeit in daylight.
The test vehicle group consisted of a 2019 Subaru Forester, 2019 Volvo XC40, 2020 Honda CR-V, 2020 Hyundai Venue, 2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer, 2021 Ford Bronco Sport, 2021 Toyota C-HR, and, lastly, a 2022 Volkswagen Taos.
The mixed group was chosen as these all offer a wide variety of AEB systems; single camera, dual camera, a combination of a camera and radar, and just radar. Furthermore, the vehicles in the group also have varied ratings for front crash prevention evaluation and headlights.