Autoblog on Sonic Crash Tests
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Chevrolet Sonic Safety: Ultra-Strength Steel and 10 Air Bags
Front, side and rollover crashes considered during engineering for improvements
2011-08-29
DETROIT – The new 2012 Chevrolet Sonic comes with an array of safety features and sophisticated electronic control systems engineered to make it one of the safest vehicles in the small-car segment.
The backbone of Sonic's safety design is its exceptionally strong body structure consisting of a single welded unit of full-length, high-strength frame rails and a safety cage. Welded tubular-section members are used to frame door openings and to support the roof while steel members reinforce the doors.
Nearly 60 percent of the body structure, as well as the four-mount hydro-formed engine cradle, uses high-strength steel. Ultra-high-strength steel is strategically integrated in the forward portion of the rockers and the center cross bar. The Sonic's engine cradle distributes energy in frontal and side impacts. Together with the front bumper system and the engine compartment rails, the engine cradle bars absorb the brunt of a frontal crash.
Reinforced front hinge and A- and B-pillar zones help maintain the integrity of the passenger compartment. Should the vehicle roll over in a crash, its roof structure is designed to withstand forces more than four times the car's weight. A releasable pedal assembly can reduce the risk of injuries to the lower extremities.
Sensors that control the deployment of 10 standard airbags is mounted into Sonic's structure. The sensing and diagnostic module receives data from the car's sensors and establishes the severity of the impact and whether to deploy the airbags. The Sonic features:
Dual-stage airbags for the driver and the front passenger
Roof-rail mounted head curtain airbags with rollover protection. The bags stay inflated longer than air bags developed only for side impacts, since rollover incidents can last longer. They also help keep occupants from being ejected.
Seat mounted side-impact airbags for front and outboard rear seat passengers are activated by sensors in the B-pillar and front door impact beams
A driver knee air bag and a segment-exclusive front passenger knee air bag can help reduce injury to lower extremities.
If the Sonic's onboard sensors register that the vehicle "tips up" on a flat road surface, the brakes are activated to reduce lateral force.
All five seating positions have three-point safety belts. Front safety belts include pretensioners and load limiters. The outboard rear seating positions are equipped with a LATCH system to help make attaching child seats easier.
Front, side and rollover crashes considered during engineering for improvements
2011-08-29
DETROIT – The new 2012 Chevrolet Sonic comes with an array of safety features and sophisticated electronic control systems engineered to make it one of the safest vehicles in the small-car segment.
The backbone of Sonic's safety design is its exceptionally strong body structure consisting of a single welded unit of full-length, high-strength frame rails and a safety cage. Welded tubular-section members are used to frame door openings and to support the roof while steel members reinforce the doors.
Nearly 60 percent of the body structure, as well as the four-mount hydro-formed engine cradle, uses high-strength steel. Ultra-high-strength steel is strategically integrated in the forward portion of the rockers and the center cross bar. The Sonic's engine cradle distributes energy in frontal and side impacts. Together with the front bumper system and the engine compartment rails, the engine cradle bars absorb the brunt of a frontal crash.
Reinforced front hinge and A- and B-pillar zones help maintain the integrity of the passenger compartment. Should the vehicle roll over in a crash, its roof structure is designed to withstand forces more than four times the car's weight. A releasable pedal assembly can reduce the risk of injuries to the lower extremities.
Sensors that control the deployment of 10 standard airbags is mounted into Sonic's structure. The sensing and diagnostic module receives data from the car's sensors and establishes the severity of the impact and whether to deploy the airbags. The Sonic features:
Dual-stage airbags for the driver and the front passenger
Roof-rail mounted head curtain airbags with rollover protection. The bags stay inflated longer than air bags developed only for side impacts, since rollover incidents can last longer. They also help keep occupants from being ejected.
Seat mounted side-impact airbags for front and outboard rear seat passengers are activated by sensors in the B-pillar and front door impact beams
A driver knee air bag and a segment-exclusive front passenger knee air bag can help reduce injury to lower extremities.
If the Sonic's onboard sensors register that the vehicle "tips up" on a flat road surface, the brakes are activated to reduce lateral force.
All five seating positions have three-point safety belts. Front safety belts include pretensioners and load limiters. The outboard rear seating positions are equipped with a LATCH system to help make attaching child seats easier.
Uh oh, about that weight and quality thing again buddy. About that thinner sheet metal on your accent compared to the sonic again buddy.
still dont get it. it reads just like every press blog on safety for every new car introduced.
"high strength steel"
"ultra high strength steel"
....and so on and so forth.
from a hyundai press blog.....High-strength and ultra-high-strength steel now accounts for 58 percent of the Accent's mass...gee, that looks familiar, no.
or from a ford press blog....More than 50 percent of Fiesta’s body structure uses these high-strength or ultra-high-strength steels in the floor structure, front rails, beams and in the ultra-rigid, integrated body reinforcement ring ....Fiesta A- and B-pillars are fashioned from ultra-high-strength aluminized boron steel
both cars can have an equally strong cage structure. its the rest of the car where the weight savings can be realized. want to guess how much lighter the 1.6 gdi is over the engines used in the sonic?
you keep saying thinner sheet metal on the accent with no actual source or proof....along with your oversimplified notion that heavier is better. lighter and strong is better.
my best guess is all that extra weight wont benefit the sonic driver at all over , for example, an accent or fiesta in crash test ratings or in an actual crash.
i gaurantee the sonic will not have better crash test results than the fiesta, which weighs a good 200+ lbs less.
donut spare is cheap. i have one in my accent. its more that manufacturers are looking to shave weight in every area possible without sacrificing safety. personally, i think leaving out the spares is silly as long as they try to keep the weight down everywhere else.
being a longtime toyota/hodda driver (and gm hopeful as i had explained earlier), it was a leap of faith for me to even look at a hyundai. once i digested all the research i could, i accepted that hyundai reliability was getting right up there w/ the hapanese makes. long story short, i have never been happier with any car ive had. mpg, interior comfort/room and fit/finish, style, very quiet cabin...i just felt like it was a step above all the subcompact out there.
nevertheless, i still want to give the sonic a chance (i thought it would be the 1.8 til the epa numbers came out). i think the 1.4 can be competitive in the class. i think its good for all consumers that the subcompact class has so many good offerings these days.
