Every time someone complains that they don’t make cars like they used to, we love to point them to modern crash tests done on old cars. While we don’t like to see a classic taken off the road, the amount of damage they can do to their passengers is always shocking.
The latest one comes from Germany. It sees a second-generation Volkswagen Golf and then a Mk VIII Golf both run through an NCAP offset frontal crash test. The cars in the test were barely going at US city speeds, but the results are massively different. The driver of the new Golf would have walked away. The driver of the old car would have been taken out in a bag.
It’s Cliché But These Results Will Shock You
Dekra Volkswagen Golf MKII Crash Test
DEKRA
Ever since the IIHS crashed a 1959 Chevy Bel Air into a 2009 Malibu, these old-versus-new crash tests have gotten our attention. Other “highlights” include a 1993 Mitsubishi Diamante, a 1999 Toyota Corolla, and a 1997 Rover Metro.
This test comes from DEKRA in Germany. It ran a Golf II, built from 1983-1992 into the same wall as the current-generation Volkswagen Golf. This wasn’t even the latest version of the test, it was the one that went out in 2020. In that test, the car is smashed into a barrier with a 40% overlap at just 40 mph.
Dekra Volkswagen Golf MKII Crash Test
DEKRA
The car is doing 40, but it’s designed to simulate two cars colliding at around 31 mph. It’s what you’d think of as a mild crash in modern traffic.
EuroNCAP 2022 Volkswagen Golf
EuroNCAP
“In the Golf II, occupants would have had little chance of surviving this head-on collision,” said DEKRA crash test researcher Markus Egelhaaf. A look at the picture makes it clear why. The front tire is pushed back into the footwell, the door and roof have collapsed, and the steering wheel has been pushed up against the driver. It’s bad enough when the driver hits the steering wheel, but it’s even worse when the steering wheel hits you back.
In the modern Golf, “the occupants would likely have escaped with minor injuries.” In that crash, the passenger compartment remained intact, and the airbags, belts, and force limiters all worked as intended.
Modern Cars Can Better Avoid Crashes Too
The crash test agency wanted to demonstrate that modern cars could better avoid a crash, too. The test driver was able to do a double-lane-change (AKA Moose Test) at 40 mph in the old car and 47 in the new one.
Then, of course, there is vehicle lighting. DEKRA says that modern LED lights “are in a completely different league.” Even the taillights improve safety, because they’re much more visible in the dark.
DEKRA didn’t post footage of the crash, sadly. That’s fine, because another German safety group, OAMTC, did post a previous run of the MK2 through the same test. We also found footage of a 2022 Golf going through the EuroNCAP test. The differences are immediately obvious, with zero deformation of the passenger cell. A crumpling A-pillar is always an obvious sign of a bad test result, and the modern Golf remains intact.
Source: DEKRA
