The Auto Channel
The Largest Independent Automotive Research Resource
The Largest Independent Automotive Research Resource
Official Website of the New Car Buyer

Size Counts-Rank and Compare Sedans, Wagons and Coupes By Weight and MPG


PHOTO (select to view enlarged photo)

Auto Central April 14, 2009; In response to the latest IIHS crash tests report, The Auto Channel is providing new and used car shoppers with an exclusive tool that allows them to easily rank potential vehicle purchases by MPG and Curb Weight, as well as 100 other criteria. (See Above).

The IIHS reported that the death rate in 1-3-year-old minicars in multiple-vehicle crashes during 2007 was almost twice as high as the rate in very large cars.

"Size and weight affect injury likelihood in all kinds of crashes. In a collision involving two vehicles that differ in size and weight, the people in the smaller, lighter vehicle will be at a disadvantage. The bigger, heavier vehicle will push the smaller, lighter one backward during the impact. This means there will be less force on the occupants of the heavier vehicle and more on the people in the lighter vehicle. Greater force means greater risk, so the likelihood of injury goes up in the smaller, lighter vehicle."