Newer SUVs more stable

Rollovers, which kill 10,000 a year, are less likely thanks to electronic stability control

Many new sport utility vehicles, equipped with anti-rollover technology, are less of a risk for rollover crashes than their predecessors, the government says.

Rollover ratings issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for 2007 model year vehicles show SUVs making progress over past vehicles. The ratings give consumers information on the likelihood of rollovers, which kill more than 10,000 motorists in the United States every year, more than a third of motorists killed in the country annually, despite accounting for only 3 percent of all crashes.

Seventy-eight 2007 model year SUVs received a four-star rating in the rollover tests, according to an analysis by The Associated Press. Only 48 of the 2006 SUVs earned four stars; only one SUV received four stars in 2001.

To guard against rollovers, automakers have increasingly added electronic stability control to their vehicles. The technology, introduced by Mercedes-Benz in 1995, automatically applies brakes to individual wheels when the vehicle begins skidding off course, helping to steady the vehicle. The technology will be required in all vehicles by the 2012 model year.

Eighty-six percent of 2007 SUVs have stability control as standard equipment, up from 43 percent in 2005, the government reported.

The ratings

A vehicle with five stars has a rollover risk of less than 10 percent. A four-star vehicle has a 10 percent to 20 percent risk and a three-star vehicle has a 20 percent to 30 percent risk. Below three stars? Don't even consider it.

How they rated

Here are the results for both 4x4s and 4x2s in each model, unless otherwise noted. No SUV earned a five-star rating. Test results were carried over for vehicles that were unchanged from the previous model year. A full listing for all vehicles can be found at www.safercar.gov/

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Infiniti FX35 • Mazda CX-7 • Ford Edge • Ford Explorer Sport Trac • Hyundai Santa Fe • Hyundai Veracruz • Jeep Compass • Chevrolet Equinox • Honda CR-V • Volkswagen Touareg 4X4 • Acura MDX 4X4 and Acura RDX • Suzuki XL7 • Saturn Outlook • Kia Sportage 4x4• Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 4X2

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Chevrolet Suburban • Chevrolet Avalanche • Toyota FJ Cruiser • Honda Element • Dodge Nitro • Kia Sorento • Kia Sportage 4X2 • Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 4X4 • Ford Escape