Safest Car of the late 90s - early 00s?

[Michael. 2313]

I was just wondering what, to anyones knowledge were some of the most up to date and safest cars back in the late 90s and early 00s.

From what I gather the E39 and E38 were pretty safe machines from BMW, Audis A8/S8s were up there too, The Lexus LS and GS series, but what about those from Mercedes and other reputable manufacturers?

I guess the main problem is though with these cars being around 10 years+ now days you have to question whether or not will the equipment that makes them safe may not perform as it should... I mean who knows how well a 10 year old air bag would work, same goes for the chassis when it crumples, will it perform the same as it did brand new with no miles on it?

As much as I like my E36s, their lack of side impact protection & side airbags does bother me, especially in Auckland with it's many inconsiderate drivers.

I'm not being paranoid about having an accident, but I would like to think I could drive a car that at least offered some genuine protection other than a thin skin of steel.

[matt45 1]

my e39 has 10 airbags i would hope if i got hit hard that it would create a bouncy castle.

[antil33t 90]

sink a heap of suspension into it, dodge the idiots!!!

No really, I have no idea... tried looking at the encap site? some of the later 90's cars were tested?

[BM WORLD 1283]

airbags should all work fine .

most later e36 models have side impact bars (93/94 onwards)

and the very last of the e36 models had side airbags 97/99 etc

[Wom 0]

^^ yea I was about to say, I'm sure mine has side impact bars

from what I've read about the E36's, one of the concerns from safety testing was the steering wheel been pushed into the driver or something like that ... oh and apparently it rated really low for pedestrian safety, but they shouldn't be walking out in front of cars anyway

[Michael. 2313]

and the very last of the e36 models had side airbags 97/99 etc

Ah thats right, I vaguely remember seeing an M3 with airbag panels in the door card for that reason.

.

Edited January 26, 2011 by E36V8

[Apex 693]

sink a heap of suspension into it, dodge the idiots!!!

No really, I have no idea... tried looking at the encap site? some of the later 90's cars were tested?

Thats not stupid, the safety system and chassis should all be sound providing it has been maintained and not crashed, its the passive safety devices like suspension and brakes that are the potential danger, I would hazard a guess that most E39's from that era have knackered bushes and shocks.

By modern standards cars from 2000 would get say two or three stars out of five at most.

This is something I have followed for years and have shown a lot of interest in since the mid 90's when it become a lot more relevant, as if it ever wasn't.

http://www.euroncap.com/results.aspx has always been the real standard.

As of 2000 I would have thought the premium euro's were the standard, these days its a different story with a lot of small cars setting new standards, the new Megane for example has raised the bar to new levels and is the safest car money can buy.

Edited January 26, 2011 by Apex

[MLM 57]

Anecdotal but a chap I worked with who was an automotive engineer in Europe the 90's mentioned the early E36 models had weak A pillars which underperformed in crash situations and was strenghtened in later years. Bit of a bugger realy as my E36 is a 1992....

I have never found any info on this but I trust the source as crash structures was his area of expertise and benchmarking the competition (BMW) was part of his job.

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

Get a Lada

.. or a Volvo. seriously my 93 Volvo 940 wagon i used to have had side impact bars, airbags, crumple zones.. the works for that era. saw one at pickapart as well, would have been a hard side impact and then front into a wall or something, the doors were concaved as and the front gaurds and bumper all smashed up, but look inside the car and save from the broken glass you would never have known it was in a crash. the 850 preformed even better if i recall videos correctly.

[BM WORLD 1283]

e90 m3 split in half in wellington (usa)

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/traffic/...mw-1205635.html

[Michael. 2313]

Bit like that RS6 crash where the car split in half....

Is it me or do more of these new cars like to do that.... I don't think I've seen older cars breaking appart at the seems like these newer cars do.

[btccm3 1]

Iv had a drunken yob crash into me in my old e30 tech 1 325.

It was a very big crash!

I was going about 10kph and the cops said he was going between 90 and 100kph he hit my pride and joy almost dead centre from behind and twisted the whole car i couldnt even open my door

The damage stoped about 5" behind the rear seat. the rear windscreen only had 2 long cracks in it.

if somone was sitting in the back apart from severe whiplash they would have been sweet.

so e30s get a big thumbs up from me,

they are so strong for such a light car

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

i would be surprised if he was doing 100. half that would do more damage than you describe. side or front it would have been all over

[antil33t 90]

Probably because he was moving, took some of the force out, would've rolled removing some of the impact damage.

[M5V8 337]

There's a reason the international brain injury association voted the e39 the safest car of the millenium.

http://www.bmwnamarketing.com/bmw_market2/pdf/CarAwards.pdf

[Palazzo 477]

Get a Lada

.. or a Volvo. seriously my 93 Volvo 940 wagon i used to have had side impact bars, airbags, crumple zones.. the works for that era. saw one at pickapart as well, would have been a hard side impact and then front into a wall or something, the doors were concaved as and the front gaurds and bumper all smashed up, but look inside the car and save from the broken glass you would never have known it was in a crash. the 850 preformed even better if i recall videos correctly.

Did you see Fifth Gear run one into a small, late model Renault?

[M5V8 337]

Did you see Fifth Gear run one into a small, late model Renault?

I did!!

And wow. yes. Showed the advancements in vehicle design.

here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBDyeWofcLY

[Grant 4]

I would say that an H1 Hummer would take some beating! A horrible monstrocity, and highly unpractical on NZ roads, but I would guess they would be pretty safe in almost any accident (unless you were the other car).

I had that head on between Thames and Pauanui those few years ago in my E30. I was amazed how well the E30 stood up to the accident, and how much better off I was than the other twit. I was also amazed how I was almost completely uninjured.

[M5V8 337]

A tank would be pretty good in a head accident with a car too.

I doubt you would want to deal with the crappy ride / speed and fuel consumption

[kerrynzl 3]

It depends on how you use statistics!

The safest car ever on New Zealand roads still goes to the mighty old HQ Holden [ even to this present day ]

More people were conceived in them, than killed in them so the actually contributed to the population increase.

Also depends on what you call an accident "Kids in cars cause accidents" but "Accidents in cars cause kids"

[Apex 693]

Yea but crash a hummer and guess what takes the impact energy of the crash, the passengers, I would rather a car absorb a concrete wall than my wife.

There's a reason the international brain injury association voted the e39 the safest car of the millenium.

http://www.bmwnamarketing.com/bmw_market2/pdf/CarAwards.pdf

With all do respect you can only trust one tester. The E39 did well with 4 stars out of five, at the time there were only space for four stars so it would have been one of the safest cars available at the time. The new Renault Megane made them question the possibility of a adding a sixth star.

E36. Ouch.

http://www.euroncap.com/results/bmw.aspx

[kerrynzl 3]

Remember the saying

"They don't make them like they used to"

Here's a vid of a heavy and safe 1959 Chevy Belair "Tank" hitting a "plastic piece of crap" 2009 Chevy Malibu

You be the judge :

[M5V8 337]

I think I remember that the statistically the safest colour car on NZ roads was pink.

So low on the crash statistics than it hardly even was mentioned.

So there you are....a top tip. Buy a pink car.

You be the judge :

> ahhh..... wow.

Note to self. When I finally can afford classic american muscle, ensure I install a full cage.

Edited January 27, 2011 by M5V8

[M3_Power 636]

Newer is always better when it comes to safety (unless it was a China made car : P)

Fifth gear tests:

Same Model different era

Old Volvo vs New Renault

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBDyeWofcLY...feature=related

Edited January 27, 2011 by M3_Power

[westy 614]

It depends on how you use statistics!

The safest car ever on New Zealand roads still goes to the mighty old HQ Holden [ even to this present day ]

More people were conceived in them, than killed in them so the actually contributed to the population increase.

Also depends on what you call an accident "Kids in cars cause accidents" but "Accidents in cars cause kids"

Sheet, I can never remember these things. I has been decades since I heard that, dont know how you do it.