Van 1, Prius 0

Wow! I'm glad everyone is OK. Thanks for the photos. Clearly, your baby took quite a beating. It is impressive how well the Prius handled the impacts. Years ago I had a Saab and was hit on the passenger side by a pickup truck that ran a red light. I walked away from that - the Saab was built like a tank. I didn't expect the same level of security in the Prius. Airbags make a big difference, but you can also see how the Prius absorbed the impact.

 

Bummer. Glad you are OK. So, going to buy a 2010/11?

 

Glad nobody hurt after that!

You can always get another car, you can't get another you! And yes, you can rest assured that your car will be totalled. Also, what happened to cause this? Did the van jump a light? He's hit you quite hard.

 

Glad you and everyone are ok. The Prius, and Toyota in general are very safe cars. Most people dont think of crash ratings when they buy a car, but wow do they make a difference.

The images that stick in my mind, are from an episode of Top Gear where they had various crash models with Euro NCAP 5star, 4star, 3star, and 2star ratings.

The Toyota Avensis (Scion tC is a derivitive of it) got 5 stars. The door still opened, meaning no damage to where the important bits (you) are. Nothing in the cabin moved or shifted.





The 4star Proton, the door was barely usable. The brake pedal was shoved forwards which would break your foot/ankle. The steering wheel was pushed forwards which would break your ribs, collapse a lung, brake your hands, less cushion for your head if flung forwards, etc... And this is a 4 star, B grade car. If a 4star does all that damage, it baffles me why anyone would buy anything less, or why car companies are even allowed to make cars like that.

The landrover, a classic "big SUV that will save me no matter what I hit", was absimal. The frame around the top of the door was deformed. Look at the second pic of the rover. The roof and the door are misaligned by a good 8inches. The top is crumpled. The door itself is completely destroyed. Look inside the car, the seat moved forwards, the steering wheel, the pedals, everything. There is a 6-8in gap between the seat and the metal of the car. Can you fit in 6-8in? Well you will after you hit something in that car whether your body wants to or not. And guess what, that is a 3 STAR CAR!!! Wth?!









And to those that think they dont make cars like that anymore, well a 2008 Ford Ranger is a 2 star car. No thankyou.

To those that want to see the full thing:

The Prius is a great car, and there is no doubt the damage to you would have been much more severe in a worse car.

 

Well somebody had to post it;

Yep it's a five star rating and didn't do too badly either.

Oh and it's a RHD version just incase you were wondering.

 

Top Gear (Love that show) but the guy hate's Prius's

 

Yeah Clarkson is not a Prius (pronounced pry-uhs by those in the UK ) fan... But 17mpg around the track vs. less than 3 by an evo on the same course, same driving style, and I think it becomes obvious that even with the hate, it still outperforms

 

Proton is 3 star, not 4.

 

I never know and I get asked all the time, but is it Pr I us or Pr E us?

I as in i'm and E as in eek.

 

Prius is a Latin word. Any Latin speaker here?

 

It's pronounced Pre-us...at least here in the States.

 

Here's some Top Gear fuzzy logic:

Fact: Jeremy Clarkson calls it PrIus.
Fact: Many of his assertions about the car are wrong.
Conclusion: The proper pronunciation should be PrEus.

Actually, I just chalk it up to a US vs UK thing for differences in pronunciation (ie schedule) or how you (!) give things different names - boot, jumper etc.

 

Are you say tomato I say tomato?

 

Pree us

Let's call the whole thing off......

 

In Latin, it is praɪəs. So Clarkson is correct.