Safety and Small, Low Cars

[TommyFive]

I've always been a fan of small cars. Before my Focus, I had a little Eagle Summit (subcompact economy coupe). Before the BRZ/FRS came out, I was thinking about a Ford Fiesta to replace my Focus.

I think the BRZ will be the shortest car I've ever owned. While I'm excited to own a true driver's car, I can't help but think about the safety of these small cars. We live in an SUV world, where the bumpers of most cars are nearly eye level with us.

I know Subaru/Toyota built a lot of safety into our cars, but it's hard to design against this:


How does everyone here cope with voluntarily drawing the short straw when it comes to your safety?

[Re~Mix]

The car actually has significantly high crash test ratings.

If you've had a chance to view some of the totaled cars posted on the website you will see the car is pretty much destroyed, yet the passenger cabin is nearly perfectly intact.

I never feel completely safe, but happy to be driving an actual car instead of a motorcycle in this SUV crazed world.

[ichitaka05]

If you're worrying about getting crushed under a truck, I'll recommend buy a truck & jack it up higher, so no truck or SUV can crush you

[n2oinferno]

Drive this instead. Problem solved.


There's always risk, yes. Unfortunately we live in a society where a lot of people have the mindset of "I need a bigger car so if someone dies in an accident it won't be me."

[TommyFive]

Originally Posted by Re~Mix

The car actually has significantly high crash test ratings.

If you've had a chance to view some of the totaled cars posted on the website you will see the car is pretty much destroyed, yet the passenger cabin is nearly perfectly intact.

I never feel completely safe, but happy to be driving an actual car instead of a motorcycle in this SUV crazed world.

Unfortunately, crash tests aren't typically performed to reflect real-world situations. I'd be interested to see what would happen if the crash barriers had average bumper heights built-in. I'm sure a small car like the BRZ/FRS would fare much differently if given a chance to dive under the obstacle.

[TommyFive]

Originally Posted by n2oinferno

There's always risk, yes. Unfortunately we live in a society where a lot of people have the mindset of "I need a bigger car so if someone dies in an accident it won't be me."

This is very unfortunate. It's probably a huge cause in why the average car size is inflating year after year... everyone wants one bigger so that they're in a better position. 10 or 20 years ago, the BRZ/FRS might have even been considered more toward the average car size of the time.

[Wes B.]

How I cope: I just don't think too much about it.

[TommyFive]

I suppose it could be worse for us in our twins. We could be driving Lotus 7s.

[Ryephile]

Dont' forget that sports cars inherently have better active safety simply through their nimbleness, assuming you have the driver skills to utilize it.

If I end up getting an 86 later this year, it'll be the longest car I've owned since my 3-er back in the 90's. I feel wasteful piloting big cars on my daily commute....and by "big" I mean cars >50" tall and/or >160" long.

[rapidcars]

Try not to think about it and hope the extra agility/performance will help offset the size. IMO, SUVs and pickups should be illegal to own without a special license and proof of need (ie. commercial purposes) but that'll never happen.

[Trashed675]

Originally Posted by rapidcars

Try not to think about it and hope the extra agility/performance will help offset the size. IMO, SUVs and pickups should be illegal to own without a special license and proof of need (ie. commercial purposes) but that'll never happen.

Agreed.

Unfortunately our society thinks they should buy a vehicle for what they don't do(carry more then 2 people, drive more then 2 feet off road) rather then what they do(commute, drive 1-2 people less then 50 miles at a time). I can see the point of something like a minivan if you have a lot of kids, but they could easily fit into something like a jetta wagon or a subaru forester.

I genuinely don't understand the appeal of the vast majority of SUV's(Ford Explorer, chevy suburban, Nissan armada, Toyota land cruiser ect). You don't need a 400hp family barge that gets 12mpg, you just don't.

/rant

[Miniata]

My Miata and Mini Cooper are both significantly smaller and lighter than my BRZ. Doesn't bother me a bit, even though the vehicles I encounter the most on my commute are semis (I work nights and most of my commute is on the freeway). I alwyas try to be very aware of my surroundings, and a small, nimble, good-handling car will help me avoid danger if it arises.

[M-17]

Originally Posted by n2oinferno

I feel like I'd be the odd one out of this community when I say "I would like to own a big rig someday."

[n2oinferno]

Originally Posted by M-17

I feel like I'd be the odd one out of this community when I say "I would like to own a big rig someday."

I would too, as long as it has a window and flower box like the one in the picture.

Remember that saying "You can sleep in your car, but you can't drive your house to work?"
Bullshit!