The new Toyota Hilux 2016 fails moose test

> You're sitting significantly higher than most traffic, giving you a much better idea of what is going on around you. This also comes with a higher center of gravity which makes it more difficult to control the vehicle during emergency situations > -Mirrors tend to be very large by car standards, further enhancing your awareness. Larger vehicles tend to have bigger blindspots (even with properly adjusted mirrors) > While riding tall, they are often both relatively short and narrow, further easing your life in traffic. But you still have a higher center of gravity and worse vehicle handling as a result. Trying to swerve around something or make an emergency lane change makes it more likely you'll lose control of the vehicle > Oh, and winters. This is more a factor of the type of tires used and how many wheels are driven. My all-wheel drive vehicles do very well in the winters when equipped with snow tires. > Anecdata - my Land Cruiser is shorter and narrower than my wife's VW Passat, has more than twice the trunk space and just over half the turn radius. How would your Land Cruiser do in the moose test versus the VW Passat? This is the video[1] of a Toyota Hilux during that test. And this is a video[2] of a VW Passat. Note that the first video was done while the driver was going 37 mph. The second was at 45 mph. [1] [this video] [2] [link]

Personally I rather die than kill a child, and SUVs are far worse in that regard. Despite making up 15% of accidents in this[1] study, they represent 25% of fatal accidents. A child is 8 times more likely to die if struck by an SUV according to the same study. Empirically, SUV front blind spots are crazy and if you have a young child ask them to stand in front of your car with measuring tape while you’re in it. Very easy to imagine pulling out without seeing them and crushing them to death. The problem is even worse if you have a short partner. I felt blind when I drove my dad’s. Even if we go for the selfish perspective, rollover rates for SUVs are intrinsically higher, and it looks like the Hilux in particular hasn’t bothered fixing this design flaw in 9 years[2]. And that additional braking distance can be the difference between a massive headache from rear ending, or worse. Driving defensively will increase your odds of survival per mile far more than any additional metal will. [1] [link] [2] [this video]