Safety : model X VS suburban /escalade series

[Simon21]

As roadways get more congested and driving gets more dangerous, safety is more and more important. Rear end accidents seem to be the most common.

With regard to this, which is a safer car: Model X or the Ecalade group?

The escalade, especially the long one, has lots of cushion room in the front and back and is built very tough. The X seems more fragile and is more of a crossover and doesn't have much cushion space at all, especially with the 3rd row.

Does anyone have any data or facts in regards to rear end type accidents, whether the X rear ends someone or gets rear ended?

Fanboy statements like "Tesla makes the safest cars. Go Musk!" are not helpful.

 

[jerry33]

Mike Smith, Yesterday at 9:50 PM
Model X goes airborne for 41 feet, then tumbles 172 feet down an embankment, flipping twice. All five occupants survive.

Charges filed in Maroon Creek crash involving 5 Aspen teens

“The police at the emergency room said they haven’t seen an accident like that when people walked away,” said Elana Royer, mother of 18-year-old Lily Royer. “They’re almost always fatal.”

Personally, I wouldn't trust the Escalade in more than a 10 mph crash.

 

[Simon21]

Mike Smith, Yesterday at 9:50 PM
Model X goes airborne for 41 feet, then tumbles 172 feet down an embankment, flipping twice. All five occupants survive.

Charges filed in Maroon Creek crash involving 5 Aspen teens

“The police at the emergency room said they haven’t seen an accident like that when people walked away,” said Elana Royer, mother of 18-year-old Lily Royer. “They’re almost always fatal.”

Personally, I wouldn't trust the Escalade in more than a 10 mph crash.

Wow, that was quick. Thanks for sharing

 

[Sandiegodoug]

The x won’t roll during an emergency maneuver, all others, due to high center of gravity, will.

 

[ChadS]

Rear accidents are indeed fairly common...but usually the speed differences are far lower, so injuries and fatalities are far less likely.

I put more emphasis on the more dangerous types of crashes. I asked similar questions when my kids were small, and frontal offset are the worst, followed by side impact. Rear impacts are much less serious.

 

[r0xx0r]

Rear accidents are indeed fairly common...but usually the speed differences are far lower, so injuries and fatalities are far less likely.

I put more emphasis on the more dangerous types of crashes. I asked similar questions when my kids were small, and frontal offset are the worst, followed by side impact. Rear impacts are much less serious.

if I remember correctly, there is a case in California that a Tesla Model S was rear-ended badly. The driver survived without any injuries but his kids in normal passenger rear seats didn’t.

 

[ChadS]

That is my recollection as well.

Rear fatalities are not impossible, just far less likely than from front and side impacts.

 

[MX458Dave]

I just got rear ended at high speed in an x. It did incredibly well at protecting the interior compartment.
I am in a rental Cadillac ESV Escalade, so I have that exact comparison, although I haven’t been rear ended in it yet...
This thing is crazy plush and quiet vs the X. Massaging seats, fridge in center storage, Bose sound system. Drives like a boat and would likely flip in a bad accident. And $100 in gas every week sucks. I think the X wins, but my wife wants me to just buy this thing now. It does swallow up hockey bags and kids.

 

[SaniDel]

As roadways get more congested and driving gets more dangerous, safety is more and more important. Rear end accidents seem to be the most common.

With regard to this, which is a safer car: Model X or the Ecalade group?

The escalade, especially the long one, has lots of cushion room in the front and back and is built very tough. The X seems more fragile and is more of a crossover and doesn't have much cushion space at all, especially with the 3rd row.

Does anyone have any data or facts in regards to rear end type accidents, whether the X rear ends someone or gets rear ended?

Fanboy statements like "Tesla makes the safest cars. Go Musk!" are not helpful.

 

[dmurphy]

I just got rear ended at high speed in an x. It did incredibly well at protecting the interior compartment.
I am in a rental Cadillac ESV Escalade, so I have that exact comparison, although I haven’t been rear ended in it yet...
This thing is crazy plush and quiet vs the X. Massaging seats, fridge in center storage, Bose sound system. Drives like a boat and would likely flip in a bad accident. And $100 in gas every week sucks. I think the X wins, but my wife wants me to just buy this thing now. It does swallow up hockey bags and kids.

I’m considering a Model X myself ... a deer jumped in front of my wife’s Buick Enclave last week and, credit where credit’s due, the Buick held together exceptionally well. Popped off an airbag to protect my wife but otherwise, no cabin intrusion at all. I’ll give GM credit for building a solid crossover - the Enclave is really a great vehicle. Much lower center of gravity than Escalade too. I actually think it’s a better vehicle.

That said - once it’s repaired (likely to be over $20k damage) - I’m planning to sell it right away. Replacement will be either another Enclave or a Model X (which complements my 3 nicely!)

My big concern is around cargo and passenger room. The Enclave actually has slightly more than an Escalade, if you can believe it. Lower ride height but interior dimensions are slightly bigger.

So - since you’re kinda doing the reverse ... is it really a huge difference between the two as far as room for both people and stuff?

 

[jboy210]

In an accident you want to get rid of energy and structures that would injure the passengers.

First, You want the car to deform to absorb energy without passing it to the occupants. If you open the hood/frunk of any car you will see notches in the metal structure. These are predefined points where the panels will fold and dissipate impact energy.

Second, you do not want the car to have structures that will themselves come back into the passenger compartment and injure the passengers. This latter is a problem for cars with a tall motor in the front. When in a front impact this tall block of metal must go somewhere, and unfortunately, sometimes that means into the front of the passenger compartment. In contrast, most EV motors/axle systems are smaller and wider and placed low, so they are likely to not protrude into the passenger compartment.

Finally as other has pointed out, rolling an X is really hard because of that heavy battery so low. So the rollovers, which often cause deaths, is much harder to induce in an X. FWIW the Escalde has a 3 star rollover rating. The X has a 5 star.

Review this document for more info on the X safety ratings, Tesla Model X the First SUV Ever to Achieve 5-Star Crash Rating in Every Category

 

[MXWing]

Fanboy statements like "Tesla makes the safest cars. Go Musk!" are not helpful.

Literally no one has said "Tesla makes the safest cars. Go Musk!"

And people think I AM abrasive.

You should do your own research if you have the energy to belittle "fanboys" who are going to most likely posses the knowledge you seek.

To be nice I'll spoon feed you anyway.

The Model X maxes out every star rating. The Escalade does not. Looking beyond 5 stars one has to analyze:

1 - If the Model X maxes out on a five star scale and the Escalade does not - the Escalade is going to look worse if it becomes a 10 star system.
2 - What typically kills/injures occupants in an SUV is not the impact, but subsequent kinetic damage from rollover. The Model X is the most difficult SUV to roll over due to the skateboard design.
3 - You only talk about a "rear end" scenario. Side impact and rollover is the only one I would be particularly concerned about.
4 - The best way to survive an accident is to not get into one to begin with. Tesla is the leader in helping cars avoid accidents through its autonomy suite.

So actually:

Tesla makes the safest cars.

Go Musk!

 

[dmurphy]

In an accident you want to get rid of energy and structures that would injure the passengers.

First, You want the car to deform to absorb energy without passing it to the occupants. If you open the hood/frunk of any car you will see notches in the metal structure. These are predefined points where the panels will fold and dissipate impact energy.

Second, you do not want the car to have structures that will themselves come back into the passenger compartment and injure the passengers. This latter is a problem for cars with a tall motor in the front. When in a front impact this tall block of metal must go somewhere, and unfortunately, sometimes that means into the front of the passenger compartment. In contrast, most EV motors/axle systems are smaller and wider and placed low, so they are likely to not protrude into the passenger compartment.

Finally as other has pointed out, rolling an X is really hard because of that heavy battery so low. So the rollovers, which often cause deaths, is much harder to induce in an X. FWIW the Escalde has a 3 star rollover rating. The X has a 5 star.

Review this document for more info on the X safety ratings, Tesla Model X the First SUV Ever to Achieve 5-Star Crash Rating in Every Category

To further your point ... they’re not SUVs, but my favorite video to dispel the “having more metal around me is safer” misunderstanding:

 

[outdoors]

From a former 2 Suburban family hauler. Still have one garaged and will be replaced by Tesla Cyber truck. For our family it boils down to not flipping over. We left the Suburban for the simple reason an emergency lane change at the speeds people drive now is just to big of a gamble for us. I would also go with the roof build of an X over the roof of a Suburban/Escalade.

S class Merc had ads that ran about ten years ago that highlighted a women getting rear ended by a semi as she was at a dead stop on a freeway. Semi was going 70mph. While a fear of mine for sure, but the rollover reason still over rules the rear end for me.

 

[jboy210]

To further your point ... they’re not SUVs, but my favorite video to dispel the “having more metal around me is safer” misunderstanding:

Yep. "More metal around me" belong in the same scrap heap as "road hugging weight".

Anyone that ever rode in those old cars remembers the head smashing metal dashes and people skewering hood ornaments.

 

[MX458Dave]

The X swallows a lot of stuff. I never run out of room. Doesn’t look as big as a gmc, but it does really well.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Model X and Escalade both test pretty well in crash testing. Tesla gets better results because of design. Battery mounted low, also gives amazing protection for occupants, as well as superior roll over protection.

Escalade has two things going against it. One is the large motor in the front that is designed to dislodge underneath the passenger compartment and the huge gas fuel tank in the rear that can puncture and burn in rear collisions. Gas vehicle catch fire much easier than electric. Gas tends to explode violently, while battery fires usually give adaquate warning and time for occupants to get out of the car.

Tesla has huge crush spaces in both front and rear. Escalde has a steel ladder frame with worse crash force absorption.

Hard to really argue safety, as both these cars offer great crash protection.