|
Depends what you're going to hit or be hit and where the impact happens on the vehicle.
Heavier cars should come off better, and it must help to be as far away from the impact point as possible if the crash is severe, so if shunted up the back a decent boot must help and decent bonnet area.
I suspect those fast German RWD cars may feature in more serious accidents due to high speeds, it would be interesting to know if those same cars had mainly frontal damage, where they might have hit less substantial cars amidships or up the back where there isn't the same strength as in the front end of said German battle cruiser, one fleet sales chap i knew had a saying, ''yet to see a dead man's 7 series'', my neighbour lost control of his square 3 series, left the road ended up airborn and into a wood, car had not a single straight panel on it but the passenger cell was undamaged as was he, impressed.
The rear collision protection of many common or garden cars is abysmal, with hatchback rear passengers especially being inches from an impact from behind, also the typical hatch is a low car so maybe lots of impacts come in above the strong sections these days, a hit above the rear bumper of a hatch will be met with little resistance.
I learned a lot about crashing on the banger racing track, though we are talking cars made 50 years ago, always the biggest heaviest cars came off best, Rover P4's especially solid followed by Westminsters then Zodiacs/Cambridges, if you had a serious crash with one of those in a light car it was only going to end up one way, though we nearly all lived to tell the tale due to the scaffolding home made cages we fitted inside plus a steel plate bolted to the entire offside against side intrusion...the smallest car i raced was a Corsair, usually drove bigger cars, still here.
Sister was badly hurt in a Landcrab, head one smash with a Rover 2000, Rover very strong front bulkhead (front springs mounted horizontal on that bulkhead), engine entered cabin on Landcrab causing serious leg injuries, Rover driver stepped out without a scratch.
Whilst crash tests are revealing they don't reflect what happens out on the road, yes avoidance is best but if some half wit in a fast moving larger vehicle has your name decreed by fate there isn't always a lot you can do, would i buy a car because it has the highest NCAP ratings, no.
What would i avoid hitting at all costs, lorries and trees.
Speaking of Saab's, i remember seeing a picture of a Saab 99 which hat been on the top deck of a car transporter which had hit a bridge, the RSJ cut through the A Pillar which proved so strong that the car was held in place solidly just by that shape of the RSJ wedged into the screen pillars.
I also saw two cars with the roofs cut off by the fire service following accidents, a Volvo 240 and Pug 206, C pillars cut through, Pug was an inner and outer skin, Volvo had multiple folds of steel inside the inner and outer skin, make of that what you iwll.
Edited by gordonbennet on 24/10/2019 at 21:43
|
