Vehicle safety is arguably one of the lesser points looked at when shopping for a car. Consumers simply expect vehicles to be safe and protect occupants at all costs. No one likes to think about a car wreck, after all. The Australian New Car Assessment Program wants to remind drivers how far the industry has come, however.
The ANCAP set up a crash test with one standard issue 1998 Toyota Corolla and a 2015 Toyota Corolla. Both were and are popular cars on New Zealand and Australian roads. But, ANCAP says drivers are twice as likely to die in a car crash if the vehicle was made before the year 2000. The proof is in the pudding, as they say.
Each car was accelerated to 40 mph in a mock overlap test, in which one car exits its lane and collides with an oncoming car. In this type of crash, both drivers would experience a head-on collision. The results are stunning. The 1998 Corolla shows nearly zero ability to absorb the impact through the front end. In turn, the crash's energy makes its way into the cabin and compromises the driver's safety. The dummy is utterly crushed in the impact and that driver likely would not survive.
On the other hand, the 2015 Corolla absorbs the impact incredibly well. The pillars hold strong and keep the cabin from collapsing in on the test dummy. Yes, the car would likely be deemed totaled, but the driver would most likely walk away from the crash with non-life threatening injuries.
Have a look at the test results for yourself in the video above.
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