what if i crash? which vehicle am i safer in?

[Subasaurus]

ive been wondering which vehicle im safer in, i feel like the bumper on my gl wagon is way more superior over my 93 impreza which has plastic everywhere, i hate plastic, and my 79DL wagons bumper is a chrome metal bumper, my gf feels safer in my 89gl but im not sure myself? would i survive but my car wouldn't in my impreza but i wouldn't survive in my gl but my car would? has anyone ever crashed their subarus? thanks for your opinions. also my 79 dl wagon doesn't have those rubber bumpers on the bumper, wish it did, their kind of cool.

Edited April 13, 2015 by Subasaurus

[skishop69]

It's not even a close call. You're safer in the Impreza. It's built with crumple zones so it will absorb impact and it is built to take more damage in a collision. Of course, you can argue/discuss what you mean by safer as in what type of collision. I'm sure the 89 has a couple areas in which it might be superior in a crash, but overall, the Impreza would be better. Search NHSTA crash results or safety ratings for both and I'm sure you'll find all kinds of info.

[Uberoo]

Short answer, dont crash. safest would be the imp,then the 89,then the 79.

[AdventureSubaru]

Impreza - Hands down. Crumple zones, higher standards, air bags etc.

 

However, both are tin cans compared to the behemoths flying down the highway at 80mph. Soccer moms doing their makeup and teens texting while piloting giant full size trucks and SUVs. A Ford Excursion weighs nearly 4 tons. The Impreza is just over 1 ton. No amount of engineering is going to prepare an impreza to do well in a collision with a monster like that. Let alone semis, buses, dump trucks etc.

 

The largest safety factor is safe driving practices and general awareness of your surroundings. Keep the cell phone in the glove box. Make sure you're awake and sober. Safe speeds etc. Just good common sense.

 

Last summer my brother in law and I were the first ones on the scene of a wreck. Back roads of wisconsin a semi towing a tanker flipped his truck avoiding a collision with a small car. The cab of the semi buckled and the man was dead before we got to him. The takeaway from it was if a CDL driver in a semi could die on a sunny day on a back road with a speed limit of about 50mph then any one of us could have our number up anytime we are on the road.

Edited April 13, 2015 by AdventureSubaru

[Subasaurus]

Impreza - Hands down. Crumple zones, higher standards, air bags etc.

 

However, both are tin cans compared to the behemoths flying down the highway at 80mph. Soccer moms doing their makeup and teens texting while piloting giant full size trucks and SUVs. A Ford Excursion weighs nearly 4 tons. The Impreza is just over 1 ton. No amount of engineering is going to prepare an impreza to do well in a collision with a monster like that. Let alone semis, buses, dump trucks etc.

 

The largest safety factor is safe driving practices and general awareness of your surroundings. Keep the cell phone in the glove box. Make sure you're awake and sober. Safe speeds etc. Just good common sense.

 

Last summer my brother in law and I were the first ones on the scene of a wreck. Back roads of wisconsin a semi towing a tanker flipped his truck avoiding a collision with a small car. The cab of the semi buckled and the man was dead before we got to him. The takeaway from it was if a CDL driver in a semi could die on a sunny day on a back road with a speed limit of about 50mph then any one of us could have our number up anytime we are on the road.

my 1993 impreza has crumple zones? and i have no driver airbag, nor passenger airbag since those didn't come out till 1995ish, idk i just feel like my wagon is tougher material metal than my impreza's metal, i push with my finger on the metal and it bends while EA82 wagon takes a hammer to the hatch, i got rear ended by a 1994mazda protege about 3weeks ago and the mazda totaled with liquids on the ground while my wagon is just a happy vehicle going down the road with a couple scratches on the bumper (first picture), also before i owned this vehicle another one crashed into it back in 1999 on the back right of it by the mudflap (second picture) scratch between the rim and back door, rim has scratches and the mudflap is wavy because of the impact, and a third back in 1995 on the hatch which is visible today. (third picture) dont know the story on the hatch though.

[l75eya]

The car is supposed to crumple so you don't take the impact. The wagon might not fold as easily but that means that energy makes its way to you. When the impreza crumples it's absorbing the energy you would otherwise feel.

[Sapper 157]

Also, I have heard that since impreza's were designed more for rally racing they have a stiffer/ bulkier frame than the older gen ones. Could be wrong about that as I am not an expert, but that is just what have heard. 

Edited April 13, 2015 by Sapper 157

[bendecker]

My '93 Impreza has a driver's side airbag. From a quick google search: http://www.carid.com/subaru-impreza-accessories/. If memory serves, it's built into the steering wheel behind that big, padded center section.

 

BTW, I'd go with the Impreza for safety in a heartbeat. On a side note, I had a pretty nasty crash the other day in my '96 legacy. The Ford compact that ran into it crumpled like a coke can. Legacy has a lot more beef to it thatn the Impreza.

 

Also, I never drive my '81 brat on the freeway. It's a deathtrap here in SoCal.

Edited April 13, 2015 by bendecker

[Subasaurus]

My '93 Impreza has a driver's side airbag. From a quick google search: http://www.carid.com/subaru-impreza-accessories/. If memory serves, it's built into the steering wheel behind that big, padded center section.

 

BTW, I'd go with the Impreza for safety in a heartbeat. On a side note, I had a pretty nasty crash the other day in my '96 legacy. The Ford compact that ran into it crumpled like a coke can. Legacy has a lot more beef to it thatn the Impreza.

 

Also, I never drive my '81 brat on the freeway. It's a deathtrap here in SoCal.

you dont drive your brat on the freeway?!? thats the coolest part, me going down I10 doing 107mph in my wagon is seriously a cool feeling, seeing everyone else buying new cars so they can have a reliable car on the highway when they could have just boughten an awesome 80s vehicle, work on it some and take it out and show it off.

also i just learned i have i think a legacy steering wheel on my impreza, it has no airbag but it is subaru. im not home currently but i was looking up images and stuff. also forgot to mention stupid me, i ment to say passenger airbag didn't come out till 1995ish, i knew driver was out in 1993, 1994 they chopped the tow hooks because of a recall of airbags going off when you bottom out.

also i though some impreza models didn't come with airbags? i thought i saw one from a junkyard without one, it had manual crank windows and manual transmission ofcourse.

Edited April 13, 2015 by Subasaurus

[Subasaurus]

try a subaru 360 on the highway.

 

[jono]

um...how high to the guys armpit ?

[Subasaurus]

um...how high to the guys armpit ?

its one of few kei cars that are actually street legal, never seen one before??

[nipper]

My Justy passed the crash tests for it day, as did all subarus. 

 

Behind that plastic is foam, crumple zones, and better stronger material in your Imp.

 

Keep in mind all crash tests are based upon crashing into a fixed barrier or car of equal weight.

Edited April 14, 2015 by nipper

[DaveT]

Newer cars are made to crunch up more, to lower the impact pulse to the people inside.  The trade off is that minor to middle energy accidents do a lot more damage to the car.  The people might have survive either way.  It's the rarer high energy crash that the car crunching up likely makes the most difference. 

 

Air bags likely save your life in  a full on high energy crash, but can also make a lot of minor accidents worse.  I don't care for them.

 

Everything is a risk.  You pick and choose.

 

I'll keep my Loyales / GLs going as long as I can.

[AdventureSubaru]

100MPH+ especially in an old car is just asking for trouble. (And very often high priced tickets) Keep in mind most tires that we put on our cars are not rated for those sort of speeds. A blowout at that speed would likely be lethal. As would a collision, hit deer etc. As I said, the most important safety factor is your driving habits. The answers here can satisfy your curiosity but if you really do drive like that, you're wasting your time on these little details when safety does not appear to be much concern to you.

[Leeroy]

The Impreza has high tensile steel, which unlike earlier models, means the body is lighter and stronger. 

 

As others have already stated, if you do have a major crash you would have a better chance of survival in an Impreza over earlier models and that is just regarding secondary safety in a crash. The Impreza will also have better primary safety in terms of braking and handling performance, making it easier to avoid a crash in the first place. 

[Subasaurus]

100MPH+ especially in an old car is just asking for trouble. (And very often high priced tickets) Keep in mind most tires that we put on our cars are not rated for those sort of speeds. A blowout at that speed would likely be lethal. As would a collision, hit deer etc. As I said, the most important safety factor is your driving habits. The answers here can satisfy your curiosity but if you really do drive like that, you're wasting your time on these little details when safety does not appear to be much concern to you.

13inch tires are very cheap to where i can afford the most expensive ones at discount tire ($80) each, also i went 107mph once because i was curious how high i could take my car, surprisingly my imprezas top speed is 98mph. anyways safety is somewhat a concern to me but i also dont want how a hyundai crumples at a 20mph crash and your left without a car but also not a 50s car either.

[Subasaurus]

The Impreza has high tensile steel, which unlike earlier models, means the body is lighter and stronger. 

 

As others have already stated, if you do have a major crash you would have a better chance of survival in an Impreza over earlier models and that is just regarding secondary safety in a crash. The Impreza will also have better primary safety in terms of braking and handling performance, making it easier to avoid a crash in the first place. 

did not know the imprezas metal underneath differed from the ea82, thanks.

[Subasaurus]

My Justy passed the crash tests for it day, as did all subarus.

 

Behind that plastic is foam, crumple zones, and better stronger material in your Imp.

 

Keep in mind all crash tests are based upon crashing into a fixed barrier or car of equal weight.

i guess chances of us crashing into an equal weight vehicle is near to impossible, especially where i live.. excursions, suburbans, and f350s everywhere, so i guess nothing matters. Edited April 14, 2015 by Subasaurus

[Subasaurus]

Newer cars are made to crunch up more, to lower the impact pulse to the people inside. The trade off is that minor to middle energy accidents do a lot more damage to the car. The people might have survive either way. It's the rarer high energy crash that the car crunching up likely makes the most difference.

 

Air bags likely save your life in a full on high energy crash, but can also make a lot of minor accidents worse. I don't care for them.

 

Everything is a risk. You pick and choose.

 

I'll keep my Loyales / GLs going as long as I can.

lol yeah okay so either way your screwed, i guess the best thing is to not think about a crash and enjoy life while avoiding getting in an accident Edited April 14, 2015 by Subasaurus

[comatosellama]

When I totaled my imp I didn't even notice crumple zones. Ran into the back of a stopped yaris at about 50. Airbags and the bumper supports being bent were the only real damage. So I can't really speak to the crumple zones on it lol. But I was fine, only injury was a burn from the airbag. So I'd say your impreza is safe as all hell. don't really know the safety of the old gen. The yaris wasn't very happy though lol

[bendecker]

My buddy has a Gen 2 brat that we take on the freeway all the time. The gen 1 is just too little and too slow for the way people drive in their big behemoths at 80mph. But, when driving out to the desert (55mph road with much less traffic), I get some pretty cool compliments.

 

BTW, my Impreza is one of those rare super basic ones -- no auto anything, including the transmission. 250k miles on it and still going.

[Subasaurus]

When I totaled my imp I didn't even notice crumple zones. Ran into the back of a stopped yaris at about 50. Airbags and the bumper supports being bent were the only real damage. So I can't really speak to the crumple zones on it lol. But I was fine, only injury was a burn from the airbag. So I'd say your impreza is safe as all hell. don't really know the safety of the old gen. The yaris wasn't very happy though lol

ofcourse the yaris wasn't happy, i hate toyota, probably going to get hate for this but every toyota driver ive encountered doesn't know how to drive and is ignorant as hell, theres a couple subaru owners also but most are the newer ones and not as much!

[Subasaurus]

My buddy has a Gen 2 brat that we take on the freeway all the time. The gen 1 is just too little and too slow for the way people drive in their big behemoths at 80mph. But, when driving out to the desert (55mph road with much less traffic), I get some pretty cool compliments.

 

BTW, my Impreza is one of those rare super basic ones -- no auto anything, including the transmission. 250k miles on it and still going.

a base model impreza is rare? mine is base everything including manual windows and manual transmission, even no tape player (added that later to listen to my ipod), i have an L trim impreza, thought L=luxury (power stuff and auto) and S=sport (fog lamps) took me forever to find the foglights for my vehicle, B=Base but this was never placed on the back of the vehicle (who would want to show off a Base?) but i dont get whats so luxurious about my vehicle besides the interior being gold, which after like about 20 first gen imprezas at the junkyard in the last 2 years, i haven't found a gold interior impreza EVER, still looking for the arm rest :/ im about to just put a black/gray armrest and say screw matching anymore. and im at 240,xxx and its still fine and flawless. i gotta admit, the EA82 gives me a problem every 2months or so but the EJ gives me problems less than once a year, if any now.. Edited April 14, 2015 by Subasaurus

[MR_Loyale]

It's not even a close call. You're safer in the Impreza. It's built with crumple zones so it will absorb impact and it is built to take more damage in a collision. Of course, you can argue/discuss what you mean by safer as in what type of collision. I'm sure the 89 has a couple areas in which it might be superior in a crash, but overall, the Impreza would be better. Search NHSTA crash results or safety ratings for both and I'm sure you'll find all kinds of info.

 

I agree that the Impreza would offer more safety however, the Loyales at least do in fact have crumple zones. Cannot speak to the gl models but it was definitely a selling point back in 94 when I bought my Loyale.  The 89 is probably least safe in side impacts as I am pretty sure the crumple zones for it (based on my Loyale) are head on only.

 

Impreza also has airbags doesn't it?