2011 Ody safety ratings

[npauli]

sounds like they aced the new crash test & safety ratings:

http://www.hondanews.com/channels/corporate-headlines/releases/2011-honda-odyssey-earns-best-possible-5-star-overall-vehicle-score-in-more-stringent-federal-government-crash-test-safety-rating-program

woohoo!

 

[tl01]

I saw that last night! I was pretty stoked since I already bought one... Now I wait for the IIHS ratings.

 

[Jeanum]

The wait is over because IIHS crash results for the 2011 Ody were announced a few days ago: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=156651 :thumbsup:

 

[SafeDad]

Kudos to Honda, this is an exceptional vehicle in terms of crash safety and seating flexibility for larger families!

 

[tl01]

Kudos to Honda, this is an exceptional vehicle in terms of crash safety and seating flexibility for larger families!

What do you make of NHTSA still using a full-frontal collision vs the IIHS offset frontal?

 

[tl01]

The wait is over because IIHS crash results for the 2011 Ody were announced a few days ago: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=156651 :thumbsup:

You're right! Thanks for the link. Don't know how I missed it when I check there site the other day.

 

[SafeDad]

What do you make of NHTSA still using a full-frontal collision vs the IIHS offset frontal?

As always, I believe it is very important, as the two tests are complementary. Designing a vehicle to do well in both tests is much more difficult than simply designing it to do well in one or the other. Since full-width frontal impacts are about as common as offset frontal impacts, it seems reasonable to continue doing both tests.

 

[tl01]

As always, I believe it is very important, as the two tests are complementary. Designing a vehicle to do well in both tests is much more difficult than simply designing it to do well in one or the other. Since full-width frontal impacts are about as common as offset frontal impacts, it seems reasonable to continue doing both tests.

It just seems that the offset is so much harder bc the force is spread over a smaller surface area. Either way though I'm pleased my car
did well. It was a little risky to buy it without the crash test results.

 

[SafeDad]

The general line of thinking is that the offset test is a more severe test of the vehicle frame in preventing intrustion. But, if you make the frame too rigid to improve results in this test, then that tends to transfer a lot more energy to the occupants in a full-width test because of the stiff frame. So, the full-width test tends to be a little more dependent on the active and passive safety features within the cabin to protect the passengers. You can make the frame crush/give more to reduce the forces transferred to the occupants, but then of course you risk doing worse on the intrusion in the offset test. Ideally, you hit just the right balance between the two, since both types of crashes are relatively common in the real world.