Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt get top safety ratings: Chicago Trib

[sparky]

Not sure what these ratings are yet; IIHS site doesn't show either vehicle.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-us-electriccars-safe,0,5429365.story

DETROIT— The Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf got top safety ratings in some of the first-ever tests of electric cars by an insurer-funded research group.

Both cars earned top scores for front, side and rear-impact crashes and for rollover crash protection, according to results released Tuesday by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
...."What powers the wheels is different, but the level of safety for the Volt and Leaf is as high as any of our other top crash test performers," said Joe Nolan, the institute's chief administrative officer.

edit: I just noticed this posted on the GM-Volt site; except the poster edited out the "Nissan LEAF". Really deVoltees, it's ok if the LEAF is safe too.

 

[TRONZ]

That's a promising sign.

 

[thankyouOB]

if this holds up, it is great news. it has been my biggest concern about the Leaf--especially side impact protection.

 

[Sasparilla]

This is great news particularly for the Leaf - which always looked like it was based on the Versa to me (and the Versa got some horrible crash ratings).

I figured the Volt would do well since it came from the Cruze which has excellent ratings, but the Leaf was a real question and this is just great news that it came through with excellent ratings.

An interesting aside is that the article mentions that the heavy weight of the vehicles from their battery packs actually helped them in the crash testing - heavier does help (the silver lining in the heavy battery cloud).

 

[Ready2plugin]

This is great news particularly for the Leaf - which always looked like it was based on the Versa to me (and the Versa got some horrible crash ratings).

I figured the Volt would do well since it came from the Cruze which has excellent ratings, but the Leaf was a real question and this is just great news that it came through with excellent ratings.

An interesting aside is that the article mentions that the heavy weight of the vehicles from their battery packs actually helped them in the crash testing - heavier does help (the silver lining in the heavy battery cloud).

Okay, I've been saying this from day one. The LEAF is not a Versa and should do well considering the protection in place for the batteries, and the please show me where the Versa was "horrible". Every crash rating I saw was good or great for the car.

 

[TomT]

It got mostly two star ratings. Pretty bad these days...

Okay, I've been saying this from day one. The LEAF is not a Versa and should do well considering the protection in place for the batteries, and the please show me where the Versa was "horrible". Every crash rating I saw was good or great for the car.

 

[DarkStar]

It got mostly two star ratings. Pretty bad these days...

Okay, I've been saying this from day one. The LEAF is not a Versa and should do well considering the protection in place for the batteries, and the please show me where the Versa was "horrible". Every crash rating I saw was good or great for the car.

IIHS Nissan Versa Ratings:
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/ratingsbyseries.aspx?id=594

Note: The IIHS doesn't even use "star" ratings...

 

[TomT]

Sorry, it was the other folks who gave it two and three stars out of five... Regardless, Acceptable is the equivalent of Bad for a 2011 model vehicle... Anything less than Good is not acceptable in this day in age in my opinion.

IIHS Nissan Versa Ratings:
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/ratingsbyseries.aspx?id=594

 

[Leafittome]

 

[sparky]

The injury measurements, all but one of which were rated good, indicated a low risk of significant injuries in crashes according to the scale of severity employed in the institute’s testing. The Volt earned a slightly lower rating of acceptable for torso, which indicates that rib fractures could result in a comparable real-world crash.

http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=1483

 

[evnow]

I figured the Volt would do well since it came from the Cruze which has excellent ratings, but the Leaf was a real question and this is just great news that it came through with excellent ratings.

Volt just managed to cross average to good on rollover. Leaf has the best numbers of all cars in that. Cut off is 4.

Leaf : 5.49
Volt : 4.23

http://www.iihs.org/ratings/roof/detailsbyclass.aspx?30

 

[cardw]

Here is a video showing the crash testing for the Volt and the LEAF

http://youtu.be/B7bUDKMqIqk

 

[EVDrive]

Here is a video showing the crash testing for the Volt and the LEAF

http://youtu.be/B7bUDKMqIqk

The Leaf is It's safer than the Volt!!
Another reason I am glad I am driving the Leaf


EVDrive
Blue SL
Off of Gas Since 4/20/11

 

[rv6abob]

This is great news particularly for the Leaf - which always looked like it was based on the Versa to me ...snip...

To an engineer (and for crash tests purposes) these are completely different cars. The Leaf is styled after the Versa. Kinda of like a drag racing "Funny Car" looks like a street production car. Any time a car weighs 1000 lbs more than another (which the Leaf does vs a Versa) and has completely different centers of mass, you have a completely different car structurally. The structure of the car and the active restraining systems are what are important for both crash tests and real world crashes.

 

[electriclarry]

Check for yourself, goto the IIHS website. EVERY current 2011/12 car listed received the highest rating.

 

[Herm]

The new 2012 Versa looks a lot like a Leaf, similar dimensions also.. it will be starting at $10,990 and up.

The sedan:
http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38968

"The 2012 Versa Sedan’s all-new front-wheel drive global “V” platform, designated “V” for Versatile, utilizes nearly 20 percent fewer platform components and weighs around 150 pounds less than the previous “B” platform. While retaining the same 102.4-inch wheelbase and 66.7-inch width as the previous generation Versa Sedan, the new model is 1.2 inches lower in height (59.6 inches) and 0.6 inches shorter in overall length (175.4 inches). The biggest dimensional gain, however, is in the visible gain in trunk length – provided by a more compact engine/transmission design that allows for a 2.7-inch increase in rear overhang (the distance from the center of the rear tire to the rear bumper)."

The hatchback:

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/04/19/2012-nissan-versa-gets-early-reveal-as-tiida-in-shanghai/

 

[jwhitehouse]

Nissan North America Press Release:

http://nissannews.com/newsrelease.do?id=2423

 

[xtremeflyer]

At least I know why I haven't gotten my Black Leaf yet

 

[DarkStar]

The new 2012 Versa looks a lot like a Leaf, similar dimensions also.. it will be starting at $10,990 and up.

We'll have to start saying, "I'm glad they based the 2012 Versa on the LEAF. It sure looks great!"

 

[Sasparilla]

We'll have to start saying, "I'm glad they based the 2012 Versa on the LEAF. It sure looks great!"

Wow, the 2012 Versa hatch really looks close to the Leaf, amazingly close. That's good from the standpoint of being able to drive costs down with scale. In light of the crash ratings, which are awesome for the Leaf, this is great news as well.