What's with all these crossovers/SUVs?

[santaman2000]

The SUVs I looked at didn't seem to have any extra clearance than the base car. Could he wrong since the base car versions were buried right around the back of the car lot. Seems dealers are fanning the fad by promoting the fake SUVs.

Ford focus about 1300kg, NCAP 5 star safety rating.

Ford kuga about 1600kg, NCAP 5 star rating.

By my calculation 13 % higher weight but in NCAP ratings there is not much difference in safety if any. I wonder how much of an advantage 300kg is for safety? I doubt it's any safer. NCAP testing is rigorous, however I understood it's comparative in that two cars with the same rating generally has a similar level if safety. It's not just about crashing neither, pedestrian safety is factored in too I believe.

I also read on a newspaper a while back that 4x4s were popular because they're safer. Truth was some were, some were most definitely not. The news piece gave examples but I don't recall. I do think it's the same with SUVs. Perception is they're all safer but they're not in a lot of cases.

I don't know if those ratings include pedestrian safety or not, but that would certainly explain the similar ratings. Tghat said, I don't think most of us are considering pedestrian safety when we choose a vehicle.

Even without ratings or tests it's obvious that if a Semi (full sized lorry) collides with a Mini, the occupants of the Lorry are much safer than the occupants of the Mini. (I know that's an extreme comparison but the only thing that really changes if you scale it back is exactly that: scale (scale of size/mass difference and scale of relative safety) I imagine you're right though; 300 kilos probably isn't going to make a lot of difference.

 

[Paul_B]

Just checked NCAP ratings. Not directly comparable because they take into account car class. The a car site I read actually gave a hint on this aspect of cars and their safety. They said taller cars generally come off better than lower cars. It's because a taller car will damage a shorter car more. I guess they reckoned height not weight but I.can't see why.

So I've got a high roof mpv that's 4 star rated. That's higher than the 3 of the current fiesta and suv based on it. It's lower than the kuga and the focus. It's still safer than an NCAP 5 star from the 1990s though. The ratings have git harder to achieve as car safety design getting better.

 

[Janne]

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[Paul_B]

Years ago there was a story about airbags being dangerous for tall drivers. Something about them being above the target for airbags. The result was the risk of a snapped neck. Apparently the news bit said most tall drivers don't have the steering wheel/seat adjusted correctly which causes the risk. At the time I had a car without a steering wheel adjustment so it meant my seat was as low as it could go. Fortunately the car before that was so basic it didn't have an airbag or much adjustment. Doubt it was even NCAP tested. I survived though.

 

[Paul_B]

Duplicate post

 

[Janne]

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[santaman2000]

Just checked NCAP ratings. Not directly comparable because they take into account car class. The a car site I read actually gave a hint on this aspect of cars and their safety. They said taller cars generally come off better than lower cars. It's because a taller car will damage a shorter car more. I guess they reckoned height not weight but I.can't see why......

I can't cite any evidence to support it, but I suspect it's because the taller vehicle has a bumper that's also higher. The taller bumper (hard item) strikes the body (soft target) of the shorter car?

 

[Paul_B]

That'll explain the zero damage to a pickup I saw back up.net over an estate car. The car got a flattened bonnet.

 

[R.Lewis]

We have a typical street based SUV with all wheel drive, a BMW X3, bought because the sports saloon we had was just too much of an issue at the Moot but we did not want to compromise road manners with a full 4x4. The advantages compared to what we had before are numerous and I will never go back to a conventional car again. The stability and grip in adverse weather at any speed is excellent, ever wondered why when its raining on the motorway you get big SUV's zooming down the outside lane? So much easier to get in and out of, especially with getting a child into a child seat. Better driving position giving excellent vision and considerately less headlight glare at night. Being a BMW it does handle more like a sports saloon then a SUV and did have a harsh ride before I fitted smaller wheels with tall All terrain tyres. It coped really well with the tracks at the Moot but I would not like to push it too far!