IIHS awards Chevrolet Volt & Nissan Leaf top ratings in 1st US crash tests of mainstream electric cars
26 April 2011
The Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf earned the highest safety ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in the first US crash test evaluations of plug-in electric cars. IIHS says that the result demonstrates that automakers are using the same safety engineering in new electric cars as they do in gasoline-powered vehicles.
The Volt and Leaf earn the top rating of good for front, side, rear, and rollover crash protection. With standard electronic stability control, they qualify as winners of TOP SAFETY PICK, the Institute—s award for state-of-the-art crash protection. The ratings help consumers pick vehicles that offer a higher level of protection than federal safety standards require.
The addition of the 2 electric cars brings to 80 the number of award winners so far for 2011, including 7 hybrid models. That lifts General Motors’ current model tally to 12 and Nissan’s to 3.
The Volt and Leaf are the first mainstream electric cars the Institute has tested. Last year engineers put 2 low-speed electric vehicles through side barrier tests for research purposes. Results for the GEM e2 and Wheego Whip were starkly different from results for the Volt and Leaf. Crash test dummies in the GEM and Wheego recorded data suggesting severe or fatal injuries to real drivers. The GEM and Whip belong to a class of golf cart-like vehicles that aren’t required to meet the same federal safety standards as passenger vehicles.
The Volt and Leaf are classified as small cars, with their overall length, width, and passenger capacity in line with their peers; however, their hefty battery packs put their curb weights closer to midsize and larger cars. The Leaf weighs about 3,370 pounds (1,529 kg) and the Volt about 3,760 pounds (1,706 kg). This compares to about 3,200 pounds (1,452 kg) for Nissan’s Altima, a midsize car, and about 3,580 pounds (1,624 kg) for Chevrolet’s Impala, a large family car. Larger, heavier vehicles generally do a better job of protecting people in serious crashes than smaller, lighter ones because both size and weight influence crashworthiness.
For years the debate over fuel economy has been about making cars smaller and lighter, changes that could put people at greater risk of dying or being injured in crashes. The Institute long has maintained that advanced technology is key to improving fuel efficiency without downgrading safety.
Well, duh. This seems like a staement of the obvious. Both GM and Nissan have a long history of building cars that must meet all of the NTSA standards. It is not so easy for a startup or a low volume producer to afford all of the engineering that must go into this effort.
Posted by: sd | 26 April 2011 at 08:29 AM
If you crash into something immobile (eg cliff) then weight is if anything a disadvantage: the crumple zones have to absorb more energy. If you run into another vehicle then the weight is part of an arms race: the advantage is from being heavier than the other vehicle, not from being heavy per se, and to the disadvantage of the other vehicle. I'd have hoped that insurers would publish a more accurate opinion.
Posted by: DavidJ | 27 April 2011 at 05:38 AM
When you ask people about large SUVs, they will say that they are safer. What they really mean is that they can run over other cars like a monster truck rally and they like that.
Posted by: SJC | 27 April 2011 at 09:42 AM
BFD... What is surprising is to see GCC overlook the award of World Green Car of the Year to VOLT, and World Car to Leaf. Granted these are industry sponsored awards - but they are decided by some 65+ industry writers and pundits - so are somewhat newsworthy.
Posted by: Reel$$ | 27 April 2011 at 11:46 AM