hatchbacks and rear end collisions

[badkuk]

i was riding along SLEX the other day when i noticed an accident involving a rear-ended honda city. what shocked me was that the rear end of the city virtually disappeared -- parang nagmushroom(ala hollowpoint bullet) talaga ung pwet niya 'coz of the impact, and umangat talaga ung trunk lid.


natanong ko lang sa sarili ko: what if hatchback ung nabangga? mas grabe sigurado ung damage pag me tao sa likod. ok lang siguro if it's a mazda3 hatch, pero kung picanto, etc. ...

are hatchbacks really more vulnerable sa ganyang aksidente? i'd like to think that newer models would somehow compensate for its lack of a butt, with stronger metals, smart design, etc.

[Bravoexo]

I'm sure napagisipan na yan ng mga designers and engineers ng mga kotse nowadays. Well, not too sure of any china based vehicle though.

[buknoy2002]

well yon ang isa disadvantage ng hatchback.

mas near ang passengers sa rear end impact

[OTEP]

Isipin mo na lang nagmamaneho ka ng hi-ace pero paatras. hehehe.

Seriously, there are built in safety features for such vehicles. But safety standards for rear end collision in most markets are not very high.

The only vehicle I can think of with very high rear crash standards is the Ford Crown Victoria Police Cruiser. It has been rear crash tested at 75mph (compute niyo na lang how fast in kmh that is, hehehe). But it was only tested after police officers started getting killed due to exploding Crown Vics after rear end collisions.

Hindi lang naman hatchback ang ganyan. Even bigger vehicles with third row seats also place the passengers very near the back end. Vehicles like the Pajero, Fortuner, vans, etc. Most compensate for the lack of a rear crush space by using stronger materials.

[nic]

Buhayin ko lang 'tong thread na 'to. Iniisip ko bumili ng hatch as a 2nd car pang hatid sa school at errands. Laki kasi ng savings sa gas. Concerned lang ako sa rear passengers (anak and wife ko pa).

Nangyari na sakin before, yung sedan ko nabunggo sa likod habang naka-park (no occupants), nawala yung buong trunk area sa lakas ng impact. Naisip ko lang pano kung hatch yun.

Napanood ko din sa Fifth Gear yata (badtrip di ko mahanap sa youtube), third row occupants ng van, binunggo ng truck sa likod,
untog yung dummies sa truck! Van naman yung example pero I'm guessing pareho sa Hatch ang proximity ng passenger sa likod.

Ito nabasa ko:
Has The Time Come For Rear-Crash Testing? | The Truth About Cars

[stickers]

Lets face it.. hindi na kasing tibay ng mga older models yung frame and body ng mga models ngayon..

[vinj]

Lets face it.. hindi na kasing tibay ng mga older models yung frame and body ng mga models ngayon..

Most vehicles today are safer than before. It just looks bad because the bodies are designed to deform and absorb the crash forces before it can deform the passenger cell.

I saw a Honda Jazz rear ended by a bus a few years ago and the body was deformed in the trunk area but the passenger space was unscathed.

For some vehicles though, i'd have reservations still about the 3rd row passenger cell integrity, primarily with AUVs/MPVs and some SUVs.

[niky]

Sit in the rear of an ancient ladder frame SUV during a collision and say that new cars are not safe. Rear passengers have died in big BOF SUVs such as Everests, Fortuners and even Expeditions after crashes.

New cars have much stiffer bodies than older body-on-frame cars, because the body itself has to carry the load.

Since the body itself is load bearing, it is much stiffer and absorbs more impact force.

That ladder frame under you... doesn't. And ladder frames aren't even properly boxed and triangulated in most cases.

[JohnM]

There might be a reason why hatchback versions of practically the same chassis are more expensive e.g. Yaris/Vios, Jazz/City, etc. You get a shorter car for the money but they might (I wish) have reinforced the rear enough to survive anything a sedan can take. Does anyone have weight comparisons between sedan and hatch versions? If they have similar weights then all that additional metal might be in the back.