Prius VS. SUV Crash Test Video...

Makes me feel a lot safer. Notice the passenger cabin holding up. Still, that would hurt a lot. The Prius is push backward meaning the force of impact on the Prius driver is MUCH greater than the force on the SUV driver (that is also a mid sized SUV, I'd like to see it hit by an Excursion or Yukon)

 

Looks to me like the bumper heights are not equal, either; doesn't the SUV override the Prius' front bumper?

Another reason to dislike SUV's: because some are classified as trucks, they're exempt from bumper height rules and such.

 

Did anyone else notice how the back end of the SUV flew up in the air? Of course, it has a higher center of gravity.

So how fast were they going?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Schmika @ Dec 27 2006, 02:34 PM) [snapback]367281[/snapback]</div>

Yeah, me too.
Oh wait, I thought you were saying you'd like to see the SUV hit by an Excursion or Yukon.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinto Girl @ Dec 27 2006, 04:20 PM) [snapback]367394[/snapback]</div>

Dating myself, but that's what a high school buddy commented about bumper height in 1975 - when Ford was President.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PA @ Dec 27 2006, 05:47 PM) [snapback]367410[/snapback]</div>

The NHTSA offset frontal crash in the U.S. uses a fixed concrete barrier and a velocity of 35 MPH. This might have been a Japanese or European test (right hand drive), since it looked like they were impacting on each vehicle's right side. Just a guess, but I'd say the combined closure velocity was around 35-40 MPH.

http://www.crashtest.com/explanations/nhtsa/usncap.htm

http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/safety.a...amp;model=Prius

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinto Girl @ Dec 27 2006, 03:20 PM) [snapback]367394[/snapback]</div>

I like my 340 HP 4wd SUV when I need it, and like my Prius when I don't.

Can't haul half a cord of firewood uphill with a Prius...

 

One SUV down. 37,843,932 to go.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(madler @ Dec 27 2006, 11:24 PM) [snapback]367513[/snapback]</div>

But if it takes sacrificing a Prius to do it then we're going to be extinct before long!

 

Not seen this posted here yet...

http://www.conceptcar.co.uk/news/technolog...esignnews16.php

The Toyota Prius, the first hybrid car ever to have been tested by Euro NCAP, passed the stringent crash tests with flying colours. Its 34 points equalled the highest score ever awarded in its class and ensured a maximum 5-star rating.

Furthermore, Prius was awarded 43 points in the new Child Protection Rating, the highest score ever recorded. This was achieved thanks to the standard 3-anchor point CRS (Child Restraint System) ISOFIX system and Toyota's intelligent child seat design.

24th June 2004

and

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/6183.html

NEW YORK - The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has released the crash test results of 2006 model minivans and small cars. The Toyota Prius hybrid car emerged on top when fitted with side impact airbags. The car was found to afford optimal front and side crash protection, thus highlighting the importance of airbags in crash protection.

Mon, 17 Apr 2006

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Display Name @ Dec 27 2006, 10:59 PM) [snapback]367503[/snapback]</div>

Right, when the 'U' is actually in use (and this involves legitimate off road duty, not driving over a damp schoolyard lawn to get to the young'uns soccer practice field) SUV's almost (but not quite) make sense, in my opinion (wouldn't a pickup be better for hauling wood, anyway?).

Fact is, most are used as passenger vehicles. So it does bother me a bit when the safety of inherently well engineered cars like our Prii is compromised by the design expression of other vehicles (like SUV's with sufficient gross weight to slip through a loophole in the law).

This seems like an sensible thing to address...and is also something which could make the roads safer without additional hardware, or additional weight/complexity, or anything else *added.*