Here's What Happens When You Crash A 1998 Toyota Corolla Into A New One

We all know that modern cars are much, much safer than their older counterparts. However, that doesn’t stop these sort of tests being quite shocking to watch.

Only a few months ago we were looking at the results of a crash test from Euro NCAP which involved the latest Honda Jazz crashing into a Rover 100 from 1997, and in a similar vein, ANCAP (Australasian New Car Assessment Program) has orchestrated a head-on smash between 1998 and 2015 Toyota Corollas. Each was travelling at 64km/h (40mph) at the point of impact.

The exterior footage looks bad enough, but the most shocking part is arguably the interior view, which shows just how far the dashboard is pushed into the cabin.
Speaking about the test results, ANCAP CEO James Goodwin had the following to say:

“The older car sustained catastrophic structural failure with dummy readings showing an extremely high risk of serious head, chest and leg injury to the driver. It achieved a score of just 0.40 out of 16 points – zero stars…In contrast, the current model performed very well with a five star level of protection offered, scoring 12.93 out of 16 points.”

ANCAP also reports that cars built in the year 2000 and earlier account for a disproportionate amount of fatal crashes in Australia. They make up 20 per cent of all registered vehicles in the country, yet are involved in 33 per cent of of fatal crashes. It’s a similar story in New Zealand.

For us car enthusiasts who tend to have a penchant for older metal, these kind of tests present a bit of a dilemma. Classics and modern classics are generally more interesting than modern cars, but statistically you are taking a bigger risk getting behind the wheel. Are you happy with that risk, or do tests like these make you think about getting something a little newer? We’re keen to hear your thoughts.