Washington ? The 2005 Volkswagen Jetta received good ratings in front and side crash tests, the insurance industry reported Sunday in an evaluation of midsize vehicles.

Researchers rated 15 midsize vehicles with a base price of less than $21,000. The Jetta, the only newly tested vehicle, comes standard with air bags intended to protect the occupants head, chest and abdomen.

The test results on the Jetta “show you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get a vehicle that offers good protection in front and side crashes,” said Brian O’Neill, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Ten midsize cars, all tested in 2004, received poor ratings in side-impact tests. The vehicles were the Suzuki Verona, the Hyundai Sonata, the Kia Optima, the Saturn L Series, the Dodge Stratus, the Chrysler Sebring, the Mazda 6, the Toyota Camry, the Chevrolet Malibu, and the Nissan Altima.

In the side-impact test, each vehicle was hit with a 3,300-pound barrier moving at 31 mph. The test, introduced by the institute last year, was designed to show what happens when pickup trucks or sport utility vehicles hit cars in the side.

Poor means that in a real crash of similar severity, the occupants faced the likelihood of suffering very serious or fatal injuries. Good means there is a good likelihood the occupants would survive the crash.

The tests offered mixed results for the vehicles. In frontal tests, the Mazda 6, Toyota Camry, Chevrolet Malibu and Nissan Altima all received the top rating of good. In the institute’s front crash, vehicles strike a barrier on the driver side at 40 mph.

A 2005 Volkswagen Jetta goes through side-impact crash testing. The Jetta received good ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in both front- and side-impact tests.

The Camry also received a good in side-impact tests. Others with good marks in front- and side-impact tests were the Honda Accord and the Mitsubishi Galant. The Subaru Legacy received a good for frontal tests and marginal for side-impact tests.