4 Star Government Safety Ratings- Will it impact sales?

[blackpolish]

http://www.safercar.gov/


Are you dissapointed in the 4-stars frontal crash rating? Would this information influence your decision in buying the Prius?

We want to know!

[Indyking]

Originally Posted by blackpolish

Safercar.gov


Are you dissapointed in the 4-stars frontal crash rating? Would this information influence your decision in buying the Prius?

We want to know!

I was a bit skeptical about buying a car without crash results but decided to do so because of Toyota's good records of safety. Yes, I'm a bit disappointed, but the results are not too bad.

[blizzardpearl]

Your link points to a 2004 Toyota Sienna.

[blackpolish]

Originally Posted by blizzardpearl

Your link points to a 2004 Toyota Sienna.

Sorry- it worked for me earlier- when I tried it after your post it gave an error.

Hopefully now it is corrected.


Thanks!

[RodJo]

Originally Posted by blackpolish

Safercar.gov


Are you dissapointed in the 4-stars frontal crash rating? Would this information influence your decision in buying the Prius?

We want to know!

Yes and Yes.

[CPSDarren]

Originally Posted by blackpolish

Safercar.gov


Are you dissapointed in the 4-stars frontal crash rating? Would this information influence your decision in buying the Prius?

Yes, I am disappointed. 5-star ratings are not difficult to achieve. I think Toyota screwed up or just didn't care. In that it's not necessarily a family vehicle, they may have simply not had that as a priority, as has been the case with various sports cars, pickups, etc. Even so, you still see many of those types of cars and econo cars get 5-star ratings.

No, a 4-star rating would not likely have influenced the decision, as fuel economy was a bigger concern. So, perhaps I'm a good example of why Toyota might not have invested extra money or effort to go for a top rating. Had it been a 3-star rating, I might have considered spending a bit more for a hybrid Fusion, Camry or Altima...

[Bobsprius]

Although the 4 Star rating seems a bit disappointing, I am still confident of the car and it's safety experience and features that help to keep us as drivers safe. I think Toyota could have strived for 5 but again, 4 is damn good in my opinion.

All things are relevant though, and in Normal driving I still feel safe and the 4 factor doesn't dismay my interest or love of the vehicle.

As someone said recently here, there was a bad accident in which the driver was killed by an Semi which crossed over a line in the road, and the car hit on impact was rated a "5". The driver died in that crash, so would he have been less safe with a "4" rating for that vehicle? I think not.

[32kcolors]

Originally Posted by Bobsprius

As someone said recently here, there was a bad accident in which the driver was killed by an Semi which crossed over a line in the road, and the car hit on impact was rated a "5". The driver died in that crash, so would he have been less safe with a "4" rating for that vehicle? I think not.

Maybe less painful death.

[anne1965]

The European NCAP is a 5-star rating: Euro NCAP - For safer cars | Toyota Prius

[jim256]

Originally Posted by anne1965

The European NCAP is a 5-star rating: Euro NCAP - For safer cars | Toyota Prius

FWIW, '09 Prius had the same star ratings, however looking at the numerical sub-categories the '10 is generally improved but not in all cases. I don't know that the indivdual scores can be reliably duplicated in successive tests, so that may not be siginificant. 4 stars is fine with me, 5 on driver side.