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Toyota C-HR aces IIHS crash tests, faulted for weak headlights

The 2018 Toyota C-HR can't see very well in the dark, the IIHS said last week. Toyota's subcompact crossover SUV earned top marks in all of the insurance industry-funded group's instrumented crash tests, but its weak headlights prevented it from earning a Top Safety Pick award.

The IIHS said in a statement that it faulted the 2018 C-HR's headlights for "providing inadequate visibility on curves but also producing excessive glare from the low beams."

MORE: Read our 2018 Toyota C-HR review

The nonprofit group also said that the C-HR's high-beam headlights provided less-than-stellar visibility on straightaways and in curves. In the IIHS's latest testing procedures, vehicles need to earn excellent crash-test results, offer a comprehensive suite of effective collision-avoidance tech such as automatic emergency braking, and score at least "Acceptable" in the headlight test to earn a Top Safety Pick award.

2018 Toyota C-HR
2018 Toyota C-HR

All versions of the 2018 C-HR sold in the U.S. feature halogen headlights. The IIHS has not yet tested the recently announced 2019 C-HR to see if its headlights have been improved.

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However, the C-HR earned "Good" marks in the IIHS's barrage of crash tests, including the challenging small-overlap test that simulates impact with an object such as a utility pole. The IIHS also praised the C-HR's standard automatic emergency braking system, rating it "Superior."

Among the C-HR's direct subcompact crossover SUV rivals, only the 2018 Mazda CX-3 earned a Top Safety Pick award for its crash-test performance.