How likely is it for the new hybrid vehicles to be totaled in a low speed car accident than older cars?

Question

I was in a low speed crash with a Prius and wonder if that type of car has a higher probability of being totaled than cars more "traditionally" engineered.

Answer 1

That's one of the quirks about "crash test ratings"..They tell you how likely you are to be injured in a collision under laboratory conditions...But they don't tell you about the extent of damage to the vehicle...In spite of the fact that you may have shelled out the better part of a year's worth of salary to buy/lease a vehicle, just about any impact with the chassis at a speed less than 5 mph will cause at least several hundred dollars of repairs, not to mention devaluation...Since the newer vehicles are constructed of more sophisticated and lighter materials than sheet metal and steel and the engine compartment is crammed with electronic gear, the cost to get a hybrid back on its feet could be more than the vehicle is worth...All vehicles are expendable.

Answer 2

As far as I remember, the battery pack in Prius is just above/around the rear axle which, if anything, would provide and extra safety zone if the car was hit from the back.

But there's a lot of potentially sensitive components and they may be not withstand the impact intact.

Modern cars are constructed to protect passengers and are meant to be totalled in serious crashes as they absorb most of the energy created in a crash.

In that aspect, Prius is pretty safe, in fact, safer than a Rav4 and MUCH safer than a Nissan Frontier (Navara in Europe).

Sure, the crash tests conducted in a lab are usually far from real life, some manufacturers (Renault, for example) are suspected of manufacturing the cars specifically for the crash tests, nevertheless they can be use as a guidline as to how safe a particular car is.

Answer 3

With all of the electrical that is involved in it, anything is possible......