Safety and Safety Ratings

On this forum, other than the brake discussion, I don't recall this topic being discussed much.

Came across this site that I don't recall seeing before:

http://www.cars.com/mitsubishi/i-miev/2012/safety-ratings

All too-often, discussions with monster SUV owners include their "it doesn't look safe to me..." statement. As a small car driver I've simply shrugged it off.

The high center of gravity of SUVs has always been of concern to me, corroborated by the seemingly-unusually-high number of rollovers. I don't see that reflected in the ratings. I remember being really upset with i-miev reviewers making the statement that it "looks top-heavy", not realizing that our CG is significantly lower than that of most other vehicles. A simple static tilt test (like they do on London double-decker buses) comparing vehicles could prove interesting, but it doesn't show up in the ratings.

<rant>When driving in traffic or pulling out of driveways or even simply in parking lots, large SUVs block my vision making MY driving unsafe.</rant>

Over my last 50-years of driving mostly small nimble cars, I have had countless occasions where the small vehicle's responsiveness and maneuverability has avoided accidents.

I have to agree with you on all Counts JoeS !

A good defensive driver is safer in a compact than in a larger higher CG car.

As a passenger in the iMiEV my wife felt it was "tippy feeling". We drove there in the Honda Fit which is very similar in size, weight, wheel base, and track. I felt she was talking about body roll on the freeway cloverleaf ramp, that I took fast-ish on purpose to feel it out. I know from driving both, the fit would roll over first in extreme maneuvers. The iMiEV is sprung softer than the the fit which accounts for the body roll. But the fit ride is a touch harsh for my taste. A welcome trade off IMO to have a plusher ride and live with a bit more body roll in the corners. I'd love to take the iMiEV to a skid pad and see what it is what. Skid pad performance should be part of the safety ratings alphabet soup!

Aerowhatt

I've had my i-MiEV on some pretty steep hills, sideways. There wasn't much difference in spring location on the left side vs. the right.

Center of Gravity is quite low, and a Canadian fire department had quite a time trying to get a test i-MiEV to stay on its side. They said when rolling the car, it would rock and come right back onto its wheels.

The i-MiEV even did better on the side pole test than the LEAF.

Yes, the ability to avoid accidents isn't reflected in crash test ratings. Except for idiot drivers in my area pulling out in front of me (I assume it's because they think small car=slow), the narrow, quick braking, and agile i-MiEV can miss most collisions. Of all accidents involving the i-MiEV that I've seen online, most were just too close to avoid (sideswipe, fender collision, etc.). I've seen two i-MiEVs fully involved, one was the salvage car that Siai47 purchased (rear-ended), and one in Europe that skidded into oncoming traffic on solid ice. That one was a T-bone collision, with a VW wagon hitting the right side of the i-MiEV. The i-MiEV had less damage than the VW, though both were presumably totaled.