SUVs, with their high bumpers and frame rails, are a menace to any car, which are designed principally for collisions with other cars. An SUV hitting the side of the car at high speed is likely to drive its frame rails through the windows/doors of the car. Just compare bumper height on an Expedition with your Saab's doors and windows. In front-to-front collisions the SUVs often ride up over the car's hood - missing the crumple zone.

I read about a test in Germany between a Nissan SUV and a VW Golf. The crash test dummy in the Golf got head injuries measured at nearly 3,200, on a scale where 1000 is fatal. If memory serves the Nissan rode up over the Golf's hood and into the windshield, and the Golf shoved the Nissan engine and transmission into the passenger compartment, resulting in fatal-level injuries to the Nissan's dummy!

'Compatibility' in crashes is an issue that the US automakers in particular have fought like demons to keep out of federal safety regulations. Why? Because it means they'd have to put some engineering into their trucks that might impact their macho appearance a little bit. A few address this, but the majority don't. Fortunately, the SUV craze seems to be fading a little bit in the face of high gas prices (here to stay) and the new, neat-o (car-based) crossover vehicles.

If SUV/light truck crashes are your biggest fear, the Volvo SUV would probably be the safest car out there to take an impact. I put my wife & baby in a 9-5 wagon for its all around excellent safety combined with very good handling and performance to help keep the car out of trouble in the first place. Paranoid defensive driving is your best safety system, in any case!


posted by 192.94....

• More Safety Issues, saabnewbe, Thu, 18 Nov 2004 10:54:36
  • Thanks All, saabnewbe, Fri, 19 Nov 2004 06:54:42
    • Broadsided by SUV..., Brian_in_MA, Fri, 19 Nov 2004 10:30:08 <-- Viewing This Message
  • Re: 9-5 Wagon with kids.... Tarzan says..., CrNiFe , Thu, 18 Nov 2004 20:57:45
  • Re: More Safety Issues, No.9, Thu, 18 Nov 2004 15:18:08
  • Re: More Safety Issues, Woody, Thu, 18 Nov 2004 14:28:19
  • 9-5 the safest car in the world, Schu, Thu, 18 Nov 2004 11:40:49
  • Re: More Safety Issues, Rafe, Thu, 18 Nov 2004 11:21:23
    • Safety v. Crashworthiness, VaSnaab, Thu, 18 Nov 2004 12:16:08
    • And another thing..., Rafe, Thu, 18 Nov 2004 11:22:04
      • Re: And another thing..., LesH, Thu, 18 Nov 2004 15:00:15
        • Re: And another thing..., Rafe, Thu, 18 Nov 2004 18:59:03
      • get the 9-5 and stop worrying....., dedhed, Thu, 18 Nov 2004 14:20:27

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