Moreover, remove the words X5 from my posts and replace them with TurboX. Sounds like quite a lot of us here doesn’t it ?

On a similar theme, I was speaking with a local tyre dealer last night and he admitted complete disrespect for the large numbers of men who buy the best tyres they can afford for their car and the cheapest possible for their wife’s, justifying it by saying that “she can’t tell the difference” or “its just the missus & the kids”. What a tragic way to think.

The most important thing about getting into a car is getting out again.

EnG – you’re right on the SUV call but, as SUVs go , an X5 is better sorted dynamically than most with a lower centre of gravity etc. Its more a comment on my wifes speed than the car. I can’t even get it to break traction.

Note that the Volvo cost one-quarter of the cost of the Renault.

One of the things that helps the Renault to be stiffer is the lower weight. It has lower momentum and thus lower forces acting on the structure from that direction.

One of the downsides of the “stiffness” of the Renault: the car “bounces” from the impact. If you notice, mass does “win” the impact — the Volvo doesn’t move off line much at all. However, the Renault is off the pavement and travelling away from the impact point in nearly the opposite direction from which it entered. Whiplash city.

Still, better to bounce than to be crushed.

I would love to see this with modern Volvos & Saabs. Or, two 5 star cars, one big, one small.

On a personal note, safety is a big one for me. My wife is a leadfooted driver and one of my key considerations is to put her & the kids in the safest car I can afford. I sold a Toyota for this reason. No stab. control and minimal airbags. She even manages to get our X5 sideways sometimes! This is with 19″ wheels, great tyres, stability control & 4WD. The Modus wouldn’t have a chance.

The Volvo has it main support structure at the floor level, similar to a frame built car, like most rear wheel drive cars. This means that a crash tends to push the front up during the impact, which increases the the force against the area of the dashboard. The Renault (and Saabs starting with the 9000) has it main support structure above the the front suspension (placed there by necessity in the 9000 as it didn’t fit below), which means that the front is pushed up instead, which reduces force agains the dashboard area.

The second thing is the robust front beam, a thing it shares with modern Saabs (and, some Volvo 240s!). But, the Renault seem to be fairly stiff, and would most likely make a big dent if it hit a 9000 as well.

I think that if they had tried a 9000 and a Modus, the cars probably would have deflected more, and the damage would have been more balanced, but as the 9000 is most likely a lot softer than the Modus, I’m not sure the 9000s higher weight and longer crumbling zone would compensate for the Modus stiffness. Try to avoid hitting Moduses…

Just remember this is just one test, the real world is a lot more complex than this. For example, if there they were hitting a full grown elk head on, I’m positive that the Volvo would come out on top.

I’d love to see a 15 year old Renault vs. a new Volvo.