3rd gen safety concern

They spend a lot of money to get that "feel". A good "clunk" sound does not equate to safety. Read the test results and then make a rational decision.

 

Its not only a clunk sound, the doors feel heavier and stronger. The doors on my Prius sound like they are gonna break when they close them too hard

 

Intangibles?

I have no statistics to back this up, and in fact I don't know how any could be created to quantify these theories even if I wanted to do so.

But I would say The Prius is "potentially" safer than a lot of vehicles simply because it IS a Prius. Listen, we all know The Prius is NOT a sports car. It is NOT tempting you to go from 0-60 in 4 seconds or less.

Again, in my opinion the whole Prius HSD design along with the supportive software encourages a very safe driving approach. It encourages you to drive smoothly and efficiently. That usually translates into driving safer.

On late night full moons? I was tempted to "punch" my Honda Fit and take corners and turns at a speed that were "above the posted limit"......which admittedly increased the danger and risk...

The Prius and Hybrid Synergy Drive is a system that doesn't encourage reckless driving. Which IMO potentially makes The Prius a safer vehicle to own.

And you can purchase a vehicle with the idea of "defensive safety" and that IS valid...

But a big part of safe driving, and having a safe vehicle, is how YOU drive the vehicle you have...My observation in just a short time owning a Prius, is that it gets noticed on the road...and it encourages you to drive efficiently, which I think makes the whole operation of a Prius "potentially" safer than a lot of automobiles on the road.

 

Seems as though some behaviors run in that family. There is no such thing as "protection" from idiots going way too fast. It has nothing to do with what they drive or what you drive.

 

When my children were young and in car seats I drove a Honda Civic for commuting to work.
My wife drive the Camary which was the family car to transport the children. Just peace of mind. The Prius is a great car a Econo box, but for precious cargo I would feel better with a bigger and heavier car or SUV. I rather be safe than sorry. Just my opinion.

 

I'll tell you, you want a car the will drop every bumper, side panel and hood as it crashes or gets crashed into, thats asorbing the impact. Better for everyone, Race cars are designed to disapate the impact the same way. Now having seen a Vette cut in two by hitting a guardrail and leaving the passenger dead in the gutter, big doesnt mean safe. If you were driving a Smart car, then yes get a new Prius.

 

Maybe it is me but if I convinced my wife a Prius is a safe car and G-D forbid something serious occurred and our child was seriously hurt in a baby seat in a Prius you can guarantee that I could not look that child or my wife in the eye without some regret, and both would doubt my judgement until the end of time. So when you go to bed tonight look into the soul of your family and do what is right. If that means buying a 4Runner or a Sequoia I would because I rather pay a few more bucks in Gas per month and take safety in the econobox off the table.

 

It's not black and white like that. It's not automatic that SUV is safer and economy hatchback is less safe. We can only wish that it were the case. You got rollover problems with SUVs. You've got unsafe tires with the Explorer. You've got exploding gas tanks with Jeep. You've loose floor mats and unintended acceleration with cars as well.

If buying an SUV automatically makes you sleep more sound at night, then absolutely do it. But I think it's like an ostrich sticking its head in a hole by avoiding the bigger picture of increased smog, global warming, and buying oil from unfriendly nations. Then there is the constant never ending competition to one up everyone. The bigger vehicle survives. Now everyone has a bigger vehicle and you need to go another step up to be safe.

It's tough to look at society as a whole when it's your own flesh and blood in the back seats. So yes by all means if it make you feel safer, get the SUV. I argue that it is worse off for everyone else in every possible way. My children's children may suffer the consequences.

 

Hmmm, maybe drive that device they smash the vehicles with. It seems to be undamaged after every test.

 

Your avatar picture is quite DISTURBING.

 

Mmmodem everyone has a different threshold for risk, and sure you can point out scenario where no car is safe. If I could I would put my kids in a tank because safety is #1. Someone I know is a first responder and he said I'm not an expert but you start to see a pattern after awhile and you create judgements on small cars versus big cars in rear end accidents. He drives a 4Runner. All things being equal all cars are dangerous but in the scenario the OP presented i'd take my chances in a Sequoia before a Prius hands down. Sounds like your betting on the Prius.

 

Honestly, safety isn't high on my list when it comes to car shopping. Efficiency is, so my opinion isn't worth much when it comes to safety. I was merely pointing out the fallacy of faith on the SUV platform. Like what you just wrote, a first responder arriving at scenes develops a pattern of larger cars having higher survivability. The obvious takeaway is to drive bigger cars if you want to walk away from an accident. But I would look at it as what is the percentage of SUV related accidents to SUV on the road? Is it higher or lower? I just made a statement that it is easier to avoid an accident in a more nimble and better handling vehicle. Do the numbers show it? I don't know. But if it does, you'd see a higher percentage of traffic accidents related to SUV's in proportion to SUV's on the road because cars simply avoided the accident. It's like how a Mustang is more likely to be involved in an accident than a Prius regardless of which one is the safer vehicle.

Again, surviving a crash is not the only safety criteria. If it is, the SUV is the absolute right choice. Your first responder friend is witness. I argue that avoiding the accident is also a component to a safer car. Is the SUV safer in that regard? This is something your first responder friend won't be able to quantify because the accident didn't happen.

I've always thought it was the oddest thing to require airbags be standard for safety in surviving an accident back in the early 90's. 20 years later we finally require ESC and ABS which avoids the accident altogether. All 3 technologies were available back then but airbags were required because it was visual confirmation in front of the driver. I'd rather avoid an accident than survive one.

 

Mmmodem you crack me up

That may be a pun.

 

If it was a first gen Scion xB (the boxier one, not the larger 2nd gen), I wouldn't be surprised.
For whatever reason, the NTSB crash test data was lacking until after that model was updated. When they finally released the side impact rating, it received a 'poor'. It was definitely not the safest car on the road.

Those crash results were certainly a big part of me buying the Prius, since I'm getting married this year and planning on starting a family.

Everything I've read about the crash ratings for the Prius have been great and I'm not worried about it.

 

Let's hope you have nothing to worry about.

 

A nimble and handling vehicle with a skill driver could never avoid a rear end collision, it is the one behind that hits you and you have no control.

 

I have actually pulled out of traffic, because the car behind me was sliding on ice. The tail of my car was still hit, but a much more glancing blow than plowed into from behind would have been. I was not forced into the car ahead of me. Had I been more observant he might have missed me.

 

Yea! I know what you mean. I watch out my rear window alot while I sit in traffic! Just in case!