The Sedan is the Safest Body Style

[Victor1507]

The sedan is the safest Civic of the three body styles. This is because it has the strongest body structure. Here are the structures of the sedan and coupe models:

Only the sedan gets 1500 MPA steel in the roof front rail, B pillar, and rear frame rails. The coupe uses a weaker 590 MPA steel in these areas.

The hatchback is similar to the sedan, except it does not get the 1500 MPA rear frame rails:

For some reason, only the sedan gets the 1500 MPA rear frame rails. Possibly because it is the volume seller. If you were deciding between body styles, this may help you with your decision. In conclusion, for maximum safety, get the sedan.

 

[Gruber]

The sedan is the safest Civic of the three body styles. This is because it has the strongest body structure.
[

No, not true. It's the opposite. The sedan body has the weakest structure, so it requires more stronger steel inserts to bring it to the same safety standard as the other bodies.

Alltogether, with the structure they have, and the materials used, all bodies have similar strength.

 

[Victor1507]

The sedan body has the weakest structure, so it requires more stronger steel inserts to bring it to the same safety standard as the other bodies.

Where are you getting this from? The front on all three bodies is identical. The trunk area is constructed from 270 MPA steel on all three. The only difference is the sedan gets the 1500 MPA rear frame rails; the coupe and hatchback frame rails are constructed from a significantly weaker 590 MPA steel. The sedan is also the longest, so it has the largest rear crumple zone.

Sedan:

Hatchback:

 

[NoHonor937]

Juicy thread

 

[latole]

No, not true. It's the opposite. The sedan body has the weakest structure, so it requires more stronger steel inserts to bring it to the same safety standard as the other bodies.

Alltogether, with the structure they have, and the materials used, all bodies have similar strength.

Where did you read that ?

 

[Gruber]

Where did you see Honda saying that the coupe is less safe?
Obviously having no rear doors makes the rear stronger. So it needs less reinforcement.

Sedan is the longest, but hatchback is the heaviest. What makes it heavier if not the body?

 

[Victor1507]

Where did you see Honda saying that the coupe is less safe?
Obviously having no rear doors makes the rear stronger. So it needs less reinforcement.

The coupe uses a weaker grade steel for the B pillar, rear frame rails, and the front roof rail, for some reason.

Coupe structure:

Sedan is the longest, but hatchback is the heaviest. What makes it heavier if not the body?

From Honda: "4-door models use weight-saving 1,500 MPa steel rear frame rails with soft zones for impact crush control."
The 1500 MPA steel is stronger, yet lighter. This is probably why the sedan is about 100 pounds lighter than the hatchback.

 

[NoHonor937]

Well that being said there was a thread a while back where a coupe got slammed at a stand still on the highway and the body was intact. A sedan got hit by a another civic at a stop light and was completely crushed. So obviously computer generated images hardly account for reality.

 

[charleswrivers]

https://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle/v/honda/civic-4-door-sedan

https://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle/v/honda/civic-2-door-coupe

https://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle/v/honda/civic-4-door-hatchback

An interesting theory. There is, however, no qualitative difference between the crash tests between a sedan, coupe or hatchback scores. Regardless of the steel used, it does not appear to enhance or detract from the safety of the car. IIHS tested them all.

So long as the passenger cabin itself is intact, I would think having whatever is willing to fail and absorb energy the most would be preferable, so the occupants don't bear the brunt. Stronger doesn't mean safer, necessarily.

 

[Gruber]

Well that being said there was a thread a while back where a coupe got slammed at a stand still on the highway and the body was intact. A sedan got hit by a another civic at a stop light and was completely crushed. So obviously computer generated images hardly account for reality.

They do show the reality, but the reality is that, if the sedan was to be equally strong as the coupe and hatchback, it would need to be heavier. Honda didn't want to make one body significantly heavier, so to make it equally strong they had to use a stronger material in critical places.

Just seeing where the stronger material is doesn't say anything about how strong the whole structure is. You would need to know the dimensions of all elements. More, thicker, heavier ordinary steel will do the same job as less, thinner but stronger steel. The need to add more expensive material proves one thing: that the structure would be too weak or too heavy without it.

 

[herox]

https://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle/v/honda/civic-4-door-sedan

https://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle/v/honda/civic-2-door-coupe

https://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle/v/honda/civic-4-door-hatchback

An interesting theory. There is, however, no qualitative difference between the crash tests between a sedan, coupe or hatchback scores. Regardless of the steel used, it does not appear to enhance or detract from the safety of the car. IIHS tested them all.

So long as the passenger cabin itself is intact, I would think having whatever is willing to fail and absorb energy the most would be preferable, so the occupants don't bear the brunt. Stronger doesn't mean safer, necessarily.

Your links have some qualitative numbers that show the roof of the sedan is stronger. That may not mean anything but interesting nevertheless.

 

[charleswrivers]

Your links have some qualitative numbers that show the roof of the sedan is stronger, which is interesting.

Good deal. I never clicked on any... just saw "Good". I guess one is good-er than the other. Were there simulated injuries in the less good one? I still think strength and, especially rigidity might be a hinderance and not a benefit.

I know I'd rather slam my Civic into something than my old F-150. Those old ones come apart like a cheap watch or you get folded into a crushed cabin. They're death traps

 

[Victor1507]

A sedan got hit by a another civic at a stop light and was completely crushed. So obviously computer generated images hardly account for reality.

The reason that Civic got crushed is because it got hit on the rear corner, bypassing the frame rails. Manufacturers haven’t yet designed cars for small overlap from the rear.

Here is a video of a Civic sedan that got rear ended by a full-size pickup going 50 MPH:

The structure help up, because the truck struck the car straight on. The frame rails did their job.

 

[gtman]

While we can argue which 10th gen Civic is safest, there's no doubt about one thing. All modern cars are tremendously safer than "classic" cars...

 

[Hondaman_MI]

Interesting videos. My impression, and correct me if I'm wrong, is if you are involved in a head on crash at highway speeds, you'll likely get killed. Maintaining the cabin doesn't prevent whiplash or major blood vessels from tearing. I can recall several head on crashes in my city, involving wrong way and drunk drivers, all were fatal.

Sponsored