How Safe In A Smash

[kpnuts]

not to be morbid but, i guess the safety rating is great but does anyone have experince or photo to see how they fair?

it has a rock solid feel to it just wondered

[chrali]

Well a Mercedes W140 S class is even more solid, larger and heavier but do you remember what princess di's looked like after her chauffer finished with it!

Any big car would beat a small car, as theres more survival space, but everything has its limits ...... and a lot depends on the type of accident.

Channel 5 simulated a m-way pile up and ran some small car and an old W126 Merc into stationary cars, the Mercs passengers would have walked away, the small car would have had injuries and possible fatalities and the small car they hit ... well the front wheel was over the rear it was so crushed.

Go large ...... every time.

[jsj24uk]

There are a couple of vids on Youtube showing an LS400 at a 40mph (approx) offset frontal impact.

[kpnuts]

thats interesting will see if i can find that !

[steve2006]

Here you go!

http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=71

[steveskeggy]

According to this site:

http://users.tpg.com.au/users/mpaine/ncaplist.html

The LS400 and LS430 are both 4 star NCAP rated.

However both of those are US versions, if the European version is any better I dont know, but in the same list the European GS gets a 5 star.

Looks like the bumpers lost them the last star because they are reported as poor (?)

Still, better than a Daihatsu Charade :shutit:

[kpnuts]

oh thanks that was interesting i wonder how fast that test is done at?

[steveskeggy]

oh thanks that was interesting i wonder how fast that test is done at?

The frontal tests are at 40MPH.

All the tests are explained here:

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

[steve2006]

Have a look at the IS and GS videos of the tests it states that the GS test was done twice as during the first side impact test one of the rears doors came undone and Lexus redesigned the locks in "Pursuit of Perfection" I guess!

Here's a link to the GS300 test ( On windows media player)

http://www.euroncap.com/Player.aspx?nk=0a9...amp;media=flash

[kpnuts]

a big thanks steve2006 that is good to see that our child are reasonable well protected. i appreciate your help, unlike one member here who feels this post is pointless and dumb question maybe he has never seen a dead child in a car lucky him.

thanks again

[Manc]

a big thanks steve2006 that is good to see that our child are reasonable well protected. i appreciate your help, unlike one member here who feels this post is pointless and dumb question maybe he has never seen a dead child in a car lucky him.

thanks again

It is a bit of a dumb question tho, but dont worry mate, we all do it at some point

How safe is the car in a crash??? - well, it all depends on how fast you were going, how fast the other vehicle was going or how solid the object is that you hit (- avoid trees, bridge stansions or artic lorries at all costs and it should be repairable).

You should know just by shutting the door that these cars are very well built and solid, and that dead child you mention would probably be in the other car as the LS400 weighs in at 2.3 tons so will plough thro most other tincans on the road with ease - that is according to the laws of physics.

As long as you're not crashing at 60mph+, then you should be ok - unless you hit any of the above mentioned monsters (or similar) that can crush any car like it was a packet of crisps.

Remember, if you're travelling at 80 and something happens you will have stamped on the brakes and will be doing less speed (if not almost stopped) at point of impact.

If you wanna be really safe, buy a tank, if not, keep aware and you should be ok. I have seen some nasty accidents and photos so i do know where you are coming from, but you cant worry that much mate. The LS is probably one of the best built motors on the planet so have faith.

No offense meant fella so ease up.

[JellyBean]

... the LS400 weighs in at 2.3 tons

Blimey, that's a bit much. More like 1.8 tonnes.

[chrali]

a big thanks steve2006 that is good to see that our child are reasonable well protected. i appreciate your help, unlike one member here who feels this post is pointless and dumb question maybe he has never seen a dead child in a car lucky him.

thanks again

If you wanna be really safe, buy a tank, if not, keep aware and you should be ok. I have seen some nasty accidents and photos so i do know where you are coming from, but you cant worry that much mate. The LS is probably one of the best built motors on the planet so have faith.

No offense meant fella so ease up.

No dont buy a tank for safety, I owned an armoured personnel carrier once, very unsafe to crash in, as theres no safety kit, your probably wont be wearing a seat belt and lots of sharp hard metal to seriously hurt you and people dont see you at night due to the camo paint. :) I didnt crash but had a of pukker up moments due to people pulling out on me on a roundabout at dusk not seeing a 7.5 ton APC that had priority !!!!

[kpnuts]

LOL

[Parthiban]

That vid of the crash test looks pretty scary, I thought the LS would have done better than that - shows how much car safety has moved forwards since then.