Just posted this in another thread about whether the Leaf is an OK car for your kid to commute with...
Totaled my 2017 Leaf SV last month. I was doing 45 mph when a Toyota Tacoma made an unsignaled left in front of me on a yellow light, entering my lane when I was 50 feet away. Front passenger side of the Leaf impacted the front passenger side of the Tacoma, spinning me around to my left and I was then immediately broadsided by a Ford Explorer that had been in the lane next to me on the rear passenger door.
Front and passenger side air bags deployed. Car was totaled. However, there was absolutely NO intrusion into the passenger compartment even though the rear passenger door was smashed in enough to see the entire width of the rear tire. No intrusion up front at all, just a few cracks in the windshield.
The deceleration was at least 30 g's. I might have cracked a lower rib, my left wrist was a bit wonky, and my right hand had minor contusions and swelled up like the Hamburger Helper mascot. Entire chest extremely painful from the seatbelt and a bit of whiplash. Got scanned head to abdomen at hospital and there was no internal damage, but it felt like someone had thrown me down the stairs 5 or 6 times. Didn't hit the airbag (I was bracing to brake the car, which explains the hand/wrist injuries). Overall, survived this near-death experience without any medical treatment beyond the morphine they put in my IV at the emergency room.
Just bought a 2019. Bigger is, of course, generally better. But (barely) walking away from two consecutive high speed impacts with vehicles both weighing over 4,000 lbs at 45 mph was pretty impressive.
