It seems that extra weight really affects a car’s crash safety considerably. Apparently, the 54.5 extra kilos (120 lbs) the plug-in Toyota Prius has over the non-plug-in model have made a big difference in its safety rating.
The plug-in received only four stars from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as it performed worse in both the frontal test, as well as the rollover test. It is very odd how such little additional weight could cause such major changes in how safe a car is. Furthermore, the same weight could be replicated by a small-sized passenger, so on that basis, the regular car, carrying one extra passenger is just as (un-) safe as the plug-in.
This is a very odd phenomenon and we’re curious on whether it affects other cars, for example the EV versions of regular cars which weren’t designed with electricity in mind (Ford Focus EV, Honda Fit EV, Toyota Auris Hybrid).
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