Impressive toughness

[Bogzilla]

We had our first real rain in a while in SoCal and I was unfortunately rear ended while at a red light by some jackass going way too fast and hydroplaned into me. It was pretty heavy collision, he was still going probably 20-25 mph at impact, and it totaled the front of his vehicle. Luckily, (for me) the trailer hitch just ripped right through his hood and engine bay and after a lot of inspection I had zero noticeable damage except an extremely small scratch on the hitch and bumper. No dents or any other damage.

I think it says a lot about how these vehicles are made. So stoked on my grenadier!

 

[MileHigh]

I’d definately have the dealer look at it and make sure all the crush zones and frame is still in good shape. Had a Jeep totaled due to a similar accident, and it looked like there was no damage. But yes, looks promising. As well as you drive, and as good of gear you put on your vehicle, your safety is in the hands of the worst driver with the baldest tires around you…

 

[Bogzilla]

I’d definately have the dealer look at it and make sure all the crush zones and frame is still in good shape. Had a Jeep totaled due to a similar accident, and it looked like there was no damage. But yes, looks promising. As well as you drive, and as good of gear you put on your vehicle, your safety is in the hands of the worst driver with the baldest tires around you…

Agreed! I took it into my dealership to be inspected....

 

[abbeyroad]

We had our first real rain in a while in SoCal and I was unfortunately rear ended while at a red light by some jackass going way too fast and hydroplaned into me. It was pretty heavy collision, he was still going probably 20-25 mph at impact, and it totaled the front of his vehicle. Luckily, (for me) the trailer hitch just ripped right through his hood and engine bay and after a lot of inspection i had zero damage except an extremely small scratch on the hitch and bumper. No dents or any other damage.

I think it says a lot anbout how these vehicles are made. So stoked on my grenadier!

I'm so sorry this happened!

It's called a crumple zone. It's designed to crumple especially the front end, you know, to absorb the impact energy.

 

[CRH]

Towbar is a great first line of defence against morons.
Years ago I had an estate car with towbar and a van gentley hit me from behind. Left a nice V shape in his front end and mine was left unmarked. Dealer checked and all was fine underneath too.
I was quite relieved as his was on Irish plates and I wasn't quite convinced I would have got anything had I needed to claim.

 

[landmannnn]

The other benefit of a soft front end on a car is that the amount of damage is limited. It probably just needs a new grille and bonnet/hood plus hinges.
If that Nissan was made more stongly it would have probably caused a lot more damage as the forces would have been transferred to other parts of the vehicle.

 

[Happyoldgit]

Energy that is absorbed by the frontal crumple zones means less energy is transferred to the occupants.

 

[HereinDaRockies]

Why do you wish for the tow hitch to be the leading edge of energy transfer? . It would concentrate the energy to a small surface area and increase the chance of damage.

 

[Jimxyz]

Sorry to hear that. I was hit in Irvine under similar circumstances. Still trying to get the repairs underway. Luckily, it’s not too bad and I can drive it. But I’m sure parts and labor on the large panels is going to be a pain.

 

[CRH]

The other benefit of a soft front end on a car is that the amount of damage is limited. It probably just needs a new grille and bonnet/hood plus hinges.
If that Nissan was made more stongly it would have probably caused a lot more damage as the forces would have been transferred to other parts of the vehicle.

Often what look like, and in some cases are, small bumps impact the crumple zones and write the vehicle off. Occupants less likely to suffer severe whiplash or injury. Sturdy vehicle may survive better but the passenger is not so good. Severe impact, it's probably better to be in the vehicles that has good crumple zones as designed for safety but the vehicle is totalled.
And this is another reason the Grenadier is a compromise compared to the Australian Landcruiser or Defender of old, not to mention the cost.

 

[Steve.B]

That was the softest part of the Nissan, the bonnet and grill under heavy breaking, so the front dipped, hitting the hardest part of the Ineos, the tow bar, and probably breaking, so the back raised, and my guess would be about 15mph at impact.
The Ineos has a very expensive hydro formed chassis, approximately 5 times more expensive to make on a production vehicle than conventional pressing of a normal vehicle such as the hopelessly overrated pressed Land Cruiser chassis.
With hydro forming you get almost absolute consistency, so it acts exactly as designed and also resists stress fracturing over time, the Ineos has a front crumple zone, and side impact testing, but no rear crumple zone by design, and here is why.
When you are towing a 3.5 tonne off road caravan over challenging terrain you need a lot of structural integrity around the tow bar, and can you imagine if you had a heavily rear loaded Grenadier, and a heavy rear impact, if you had a rear crumple zone all that gear would be pushed through the rear seat with a terrible outcome, while the rear bumper is designed to give, the rest of the rear not so much.
The vehicle hitting the back will crumple, and all vehicles besides an Austin Champ, only have one reverse gear high and low in a 4x4s case, and quite often a governed reverse top speed.