VIDEO: Fiat 500 vs. Audi Q7, guess who wins
Click above to view the video after the jump
Small, fuel efficient vehicles are all the rage right now, and many SUV owners are willing to do just about anything to get out of their gas guzzling transportation. Problem is, if you do get a new MINI or Yaris, you still have to drive it out into the automotive wilderness. SUVs and big pickup trucks are still omnipresent, and driving a vehicle that barely comes up to the bumper on an F-150 just doesn't look that safe. Automakers will tell you that their new go-karts get five stars in crash tests and that they're as safe as ever, but wouldn't you like to see what would happen if a three-ton SUV hit one of these miniature motor vehicles?
The good news is that there is just such a video that resides on YouTube, and it pits the massive Audi Q7 against the cute and tiny Fiat 500. While we would desperately like the folks at Fiat to send the 500 State-side, watching the video doesn't exactly make us want to drive one ourselves. Hit the jump to see how the Fiat fared, but if you have a strong affinity for crash test dummies, you may want to take a pass on this one.Thanks for the tip, JC!
[Source: YouTube]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
VWsat 7:27AM (7/28/2008)
That wasn't as bad as I had expected, and it was much better than the crash test video for the Neon.
I'd be interested to see what damage was actually suffered, to see what the effects would be on a human driver.
In all honesty, it looked like the person in the back seat of the Q7 took the worst of that accident.
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Zouz 7:35AM (7/28/2008)
The Fiat 500 driver is all red : http://www.adac.de/Tests/Crash_Tests/gross_vs_klein/kw_vs_gw/fiat500/default.asp?ComponentID=223020&SourcePageID=223046&TL=2
Mark 7:37AM (7/28/2008)
It doesn't look like the driver of the 500 did that great either.
VWsat 8:18AM (7/28/2008)
Thanks for the link Zouz, using babelfish:
- The Fiat 500 has 2 cross members in the front to provide a large surface area for impact.
- The Q7 corner impact only hits a small part of the cross members, not enough to reduce all the kinetic energy from the Q7.
- As the Fiat and Audi's corners compressed, the Fiat side members compressed deforming the structure and creating a hole under the driver's seat.
- The majority of the red on the driver is caused by the deformation of the side member, impacting the driver.
Essentially, only part of the crumple zone was used causing the side impact beams to bend and hit the driver.
Nothing was said about the airbags (in the link, that I could see)
CarlosMC 2:14PM (7/28/2008)
Replace *member* by *section*
CarlosMC 2:22PM (7/28/2008)
On a different note, if you test a q7 against a heavy hauler, q7 won't fare better, either.
BLS 7:35AM (7/28/2008)
My favorite part is the headlight of the 500.
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Benfolio 9:06AM (7/28/2008)
I'm suprised that crowd was allowed to be that close to the crash.
If that headlight had launched into someone's face...
ConceptVBS 11:20AM (7/28/2008)
Only in Germany. In America, you'll have people sueing for "mental disturbance due to vehicular crash". Pathetic. Why are we such a pussy nation?
Xcountryflyer 12:57PM (7/28/2008)
I am surprised people could get that close too and not be behind some clear plastic barrier. And it's not about suing, its about protecting people from injury.
That said, maybe if we make big hulking SUVs not so big and hulking, small cars will be better protected.
Giuseppe 7:36AM (7/28/2008)
I think the little 500 did rather well, though it seems the seatbelt pre-tensioners did not fire
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Snowdog 7:49AM (7/28/2008)
If you live in fear don't drive. It is one of the most widely done dangerous activities.
Next show us the Q7 vs Semi. A month ago there was a news story of a Durango hitting a Semi. IIRC there were no survivors.
There are all kinds of worse case scenarios. I drive a small car. I don't live in fear.
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Vintage 8:30AM (7/28/2008)
Me neither, especially since a nimble small car helps you avoid accidents in the first place. SUV owners should live in fear, because if they don't use a signal and hit me, I have a bat underneath my seat that they're going to be introduced to.
akboss302 8:32AM (7/28/2008)
awesome post - would have said the same thing but you beat me to it. People that buy large vehicles, especially those of a tall, off-road, 4x4 nature so that they are driving a pinnacle of safety and always 'win' in an accident are forgetting the millions of even larger vehicles on the road. Simply put, if you get in a crash, nobody wins.
Kumail 9:26AM (7/28/2008)
+1, i also drive small cars and hate driving suv's/minivans. while we drive our small cars for enjoyment and to get from a to b (with no stops in between :D), suv's/minivans are more likely to kill people in a car accident.
RJ 1:09PM (7/28/2008)
Let's all drive street legal retired M1 Abrams; till you hit the guy driving a street legal 500-ton Cat mining truck...
Bluewarp 7:52AM (7/28/2008)
Looks like the 500's driver's airbag failed before absorbing the full impact. That blowout next to the column allowing the head to slide outside the window... not good.
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Samuel 7:57AM (7/28/2008)
It seems a couple of bad things happened to the Fiat 500. Firstly the door deformed, which means in an accident it's going to be difficult to get the driver & passengers out for medical treatment.
The second thing was that the airbag seemed to burst just after the driver was about 1/2 way through his foward thrust. That is, it receives the blow from the driver, and then the entire car is thrust backwards & the steering wheel into the drivers face by the momentum of the Q7.
Other than that, that 500 is a remarkably tough little beast.
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Cristian 8:14AM (7/28/2008)
Well, it's obvious none of you understands German. Before you get into the whole analysis (not just you Samuel, but all), it would be helpful to know the observations of those who did the test.
They observed that the safety cells (the cages surrounding the vehicles, and absorbing the impact energy) missed each other. Obviously, the designers of the Q7 placed them too high. This rendered them useless, as they failed to do what they were designed for.
This was the only thing they were trying to prove. I trust that the Fiat would have fared much better, had its safety cell had a chance to come in action. My criticism, and that of those who did the test goes only to SUV manufacturers. Here in Europe, most of the vehicles on the road are cars, and not SUVs. Thus, it makes much more sense that the SUVs adapt to the market, rather then have the market adapt to them.
As for the US... I guess Snowdog formulated it very nicely. Driving is relatively dangerous.
Samuel 8:21AM (7/28/2008)
Both vehicle's safety cells did their jobs independantly. because the chassis rails of the Q7 are higher than the 500's, they obviously didn't share the load as both vehicles were intended to.
This problem has been raised by many organisations in the past. I remember the Volvo XC90 has been designed with low-set chassis rails so that they can connect properly with a car should the worst happen.
Regardless, both vehicle's protected their passengers using the structural rigidity of the vehicle.