Crash survivability of the Golf...

[richtung]

Was driving along the motorway this morning.. just cruising along and enjoying the clear road 

A sudden and morbid thought entered into my head... if i was doing 70 and for whatever reason, i was in an accident which resulting me rolling the car several times... would i survive?

Now, of course there a million and one factors that need to be taken into consideration to determine the likeliness of survival in a crash, one major factor would be how well the car is put together.

In my ED30, i have full confidence of in the car protecting me if the car rolled when doing 70 (im not desperate to find out any time soon), but what about other makes?

A lot has been said of late how overpriced VW cars where - especially the high end models. Many comments have been made about  Ford, Renault and Vauxhall producing cheaper cars that will give the Golf a run for its money -mainly determined by 0-60 times, max BHP, top speed, included extras etc etc.

I guess there's no way to answer my question easily but i do wonder, yes, the Golf (and other VW models) do appear more expensive than equivalent models from Ford, Vauxhall and Renault but in the "touch wood it never happens" scenario, the serious accident, would the cheaper equivalent models protect you as well as the Golf..?

Sorry for the morbid nature of this thread but i do wonder if  we have become too concerned about headline figures for the lowest price and have forgotten about the important stuff like Safety and structural build quality..?

Thanks for reading

Rich

[camfollower]

IMO it's in the lap of the gods if you roll any of these motors... Fit a roll cage

[jhtrophy]

See ncap?

[camfollower]

See ncap?

I don't think they include roll tests, but they should...

[rf860]

I suggest you look at this website

http://www.euroncap.com/home.aspx

All cars are much of a muchness these days. Majority of cars achieve 5 stars safety rating.

I've had experience of being in a clio (61 plate) when it veered off the road at 50mph and rolled several times over large boulders and a sign post and got our completely unhurt. Infact, we were both more bothered about the state of the road that was covered in debris from the smashed up car.

As you'd expect, the car was a complete right off.

[richtung]

I suggest you look at this website

http://www.euroncap.com/home.aspx

All cars are much of a muchness these days. Majority of cars achieve 5 stars safety rating.

I've had experience of being in a clio (61 plate) when it veered off the road at 50mph and rolled several times over large boulders and a sign post and got our completely unhurt. Infact, we were both more bothered about the state of the road that was covered in debris from the smashed up car.

As you'd expect, the car was a complete right off.

wow...
Glad you were ok!!!

[JoeDarKa]

I think most newer cars all have a good crash rating, my mum has just bought a brand new fiesta that has the rating above 5 stars. Its too hard to call with so many different factors to consider!

[mad_pete]

On the balance you will survive. Modern cars are designed to have enough strength support in the roof to roll.

[richtung]

For the purpose of this debate, you can substitute the car being rolled with any other type of crash..

Does higher price of a car increase the probability of survival in a crash?

Rich

[Eddie-NL]

renault had 5 star ratings before vw

and they are not as solid as vw when it comes to build quality

There are more import factors that will decide if you survive a crash

Your speed
the combined speed if head on
the rate at which you stop

[GTI5]

This Fifth Gear video puts things into perspective for a collision:

[rich83]

Too many factors to say Rich... You could kill yourself in an accident at 30-40MPH is the conditions of the accident are 'correct'

[RedED30]

Funny you say 70, look at what speed the NCAP ratings are for. Most manufacturers don't test to 70mph impacts as they do not need to, to achieve the NCAP ratings.

However as Rich says, with correct accident conditions yes, you can/will/do damage yourself. In my line of work i do bits and pieces related to this and you would be suprised at what force measurements not only the dummies, but the crumple zones and car show at a 20-30 mph crash.

[mad_pete]

For the purpose of this debate, you can substitute the car being rolled with any other type of crash..

Does higher price of a car increase the probability of survival in a crash?

Rich

Higher price cars tend to have more safety features. It's not an exact rule but I'd rather be in an s class than a polo.