Rear impact crashes .

littleautonoir · 03-04-2007, 04:58 PM

Picking up on a comment from Alfie168 who has concerns about the ability of Picanto to resist rear impact crashes, I have had one. I was near stationary when rear ended by a Mk II Vauxhall Astra doing about 25-30 mph. My car was knocked forward hard enough to shoot the stereo out of the dash! My Dad, who has been repairing crash damaged cars professionaly for over 40 years, repaired it for me. I had to buy a new bumper cover and plastic support whilst he straightened some minor damage to the lower panel behind the spare wheel well but that was the only damage. My Dad said he thought it held up very well to the impact, better than other small cars in the sector he has repaired recently such as the small peugeot's and citroens. To protect the rear bumper I have now fitted a tow bar. I was wondering if any of you guys have had similar experiences and how your cars fared.

Spec SX · 03-04-2007, 05:24 PM

About three months after I bought my Spectra in 05 I got rearended. I was just taking off from a stop light when the car in front of me stopped for some reason so I stopped as well. The Ford van behind me didnt stop. He was doing 5mph or so when he hit me. I was expecting to have a smashed up bumper but there was only one little scratch on it. I got lucky.
Glad to hear your dad was able to fix it for you.

Alfie168 · 03-05-2007, 01:41 AM

My comment was not a reflection on the Picanto as such, just a reflection of the physics of having rear seat passengers so close to the potential point of impact in many such small cars. There has just been a nasty accident on the A1 in N.Yorks close to where I come from and all the fatalities are in the Citroen Saxo.

Anything that extends the crumple zone can only be a good thing for the occupants. Don't get me wrong though I Love small cars, and in my time i've been a motorcyclist, owned such flimsy devices as a Renault 4 and a Citroen Dyane, and built a very exposed kit car once called a Dutton Phaeton (Think of a very low rent Caterham and you are not far off). All great fun, but not even a vestige of protection in them.

I doubt you were hit at 25MPH though..thats write off country..sounds more like a 5-10mph bump. It feels like 25 simply because of the sheer mass of the object hitting you.

Happy there were no injuries though.

Alfie 168

Alfie 168

hanzel371 · 03-18-2007, 03:17 PM

either the stereo was flimsily attached to the dash or that was one very serious read end bump....

i own a kia pride cd5 - the hatch back type, was rear ended and front ended on several occcasions but so far the bumper held up fine. at one time i had my handbrake on and i was front ended. the impact was strong enough to push my car backwards even though the handbrake was on. the other car's bumper (a nissan) was a mess and was crumpled free from it's pins (it nearly fell off the car) while there was hardly a dent in mine, only a few minor scratches, my plate number did not fare as well. it was crumpled and torn in a few places.

peace!

goryo · 03-26-2007, 11:23 PM

hey buddy!

try to send me a picture of your picanto with the rear tow bar. im sure it will help just in case someone bumps me from the rear. thanks!

gurney · 04-18-2007, 09:38 AM

My girlfriend got hit from behind in her picanto by a truck on the motorway. She was doing 50mph when she was hit and the whole back end was a complete mess. Happily everything was repairable and she was not hurt. It did require a new bumper, bootlid and some minor straightening on the rear passenger side.

hanzel371 · 04-19-2007, 02:18 PM

nice to know nobody was hurt in that rear ender by a truck., can you post a picture of the accident? it'll give us a good idea of how the rear end hold up....thanks!