Following on from the rather heated 4x4 threads, has anyone checked the safety rating for their car here ? It certainly makes interestin reading. Only 10 cars featured scored more than 3 stars for pedestrian safety.
2 out of 43 "super minis" (Clio sized cars)
2 out of 29 small family cars (Megane sized cars)
0 out of 48 large family cars (Laguna sized cars)
0 out of 12 "executive" cars (BMW 5 series, Merc E class)
1 out of 7 Roadsters (Mazda MX5s) 1 with 0 stars
0 out of 11 large off roaders (Jeep Cherokee sized) 1 with 0 stars
1 out of 4 small off roaders (Freelander sized)
4 out of small 19 MPVs (Scenic sized)
0 out of 14 MPVs (Espace sized)
Yes, the off roaders are worse for pedestrian safety (which is the main grip about having them in areas with a high pedestrian population) but they're not vastly lower. There are other cars that fare just as badly.
Having said that, they're a b*gger to see round if you're crossing a road, driving behind one etc etc. I don't think that's taken into account in the tests