Study Finds That New Car Smell Could Make You Sick

Amy Tokic
by Amy Tokic
2012 Honda Civic Si Sedan

You may love that new car smell, but don’t breathe in too deep – it could make you sick.

Automakers sometimes use volatile chemicals in its cars’ interiors and there’s a study out from the Ecology Center that lists the worst offenders and the safest bets. The problem with that “new car smell” is that it contains volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are bad for breathing, especially when it’s confined to such a small place – like a car.

Making the worst list are the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, the Chrysler 300C and the Kia Soul. In the Mitsubishi Outlander, the Ecology Center states that its interior “contained bromine and antimony-based flame retardants in the seating and center console; chromium-treated leather on several components; and over 400 ppm lead in seating materials.”

But you can breathe easy in certain vehicles. On the safest cars list, from an interior chemical standpoint, are the Honda Civic, the Toyota Prius and the Honda CR-Z.

You can see what cars make the worst and best lists after the jump.

[Source: The Detroit Bureau]

10 Best Picks:

2012 Honda Civic

2011 Toyota Prius

2011 Honda CR-Z

2011 Nissan Cube

2011 Acura RDX

2012 Acura ZDX

2012 Audi S5

2011 Smart Coupe

2011 Toyota Venza

2011 Smart Passion

10 Worst Picks:

2012 Mini Cooper S. Clubman

2012 VW Eos

2011 Kia Sportage

2011 Chevy Aveo5

2012 Hyundai Accent

2011 Mazda CX-7

2011 Nissan Versa

2011 Kia Soul

2011 Chrysler 200 SC

2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport

Amy Tokic
Amy Tokic

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  • Stephen Marcus Colmar Stephen Marcus Colmar on Mar 14, 2012

    [...] post: Study Finds That New Car Smell Could Make You Sick – AutoGuide.com This entry is filed under Uncategorized and tagged auto-insurance, auto-parts, british, [...]

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