benfmd

I currently drive an E60 M5. I have two small kids that ride in the back. Would they be as safe in the 997 turbo as in the M5?

Thanks.

Macster

other objects: doors/sides of car, front seats, other passengers, etc. in the event of a crash.

The further away a body is from other objects/surfaces the safer, all other things being equal.

I would guess that in the M5 the children have more room around them and thus in the unfortunate event of an accident would be less likely to make contact with or make as hard of contact with the sides of the passenger cabin/doors, roof, front seat backs and each other during a crash.

Then there is the factor of weight. The M5 a heavier car and should fare better in a collision with the same vehicle compared to the 997.

Also, what air bags are available in the M5 compared to the 997?

When my Cayman was struck on its left front fender both air bags deployed. I had a passenger. This was my first and I hope my last airbag deployment experience but I was amazed at the experience and performance of the airbag. Even with a seat belt/shoulder strap properly fitted and seat belt pretensioners the airbag added another level of protection. My face -- I was wearing glasses at the time -- made contact with the airbag instead of the harder wheel.

Amazing technology.

Side and rollover airbags in a car and for rear seat passengers I think a worthy consideration if one has to carry small children or anyone for that matter in the rear seat area of a car.

Understand I feel very safe in my Boxster. I felt safe in the Cayman and while the car was destroyed both my passenger and I walked away with no injuries.

I feel safe in my 996 Turbo as well.

However, I do not carry passengers in the Turbo's rear seats. Had I small children I'd consider a Panamera or some other car, or a Cayenne for th reasons I've outlined above.

Sincerely,

Macster.

benfmd

Thank you so much for your detailed reply. You confirmed most of my thoughts on the issue. I am inclined to stick with the M5 for now. Maybe I will look into the Panamera, but without a manual transmission or SMG type transmission available I will likely stay with the M5 for that reason as well.

jcnesq

I don't think there is any perfect answer to this, since it involves speculation about where a collision hits. Obviously, a serious broadside hitting by the rear seats is going to be seriously bad news in almost any car. I think the 911 shell is a very strong and crashworthy hunk of steel. In the rear seats, the (small) passenger is shrouded by a lot of strong metal behind and in the seat well. True there are no side airbags. I have always taken my kids with me constantly. My now 4 y/o son sits in the rear in a Porsche car seat with the side headrests. My 7.5 y/o daughter has now graduated to the front passenger seat.

Is an M5 safer? Not necessarily. If you really want extra protection, you should probably get a Land Cruiser or something like that. (My wife was seriously rear-ended some years ago when she had a Land Cruiser while driving 30mph or so on the freeway by an idiot going 60-70; the other car was crumpled and totaled, her car had no noticeable damage!)

benfmd

I always thought that it was safer NOT to have side airbags in the rear seat of a car with kids as passangers. Am I wrong?

bucking

No SMG, granted. But, the Panamera has PDK which is a fantastic gearbox. It is a dual clutch, twin shaft, automated manual which is very similar to BMW M-DCT transmission available in the M3. I have an E60 M5 with SMG. I've driven both the BMW M-DCT and Porsche PDK cars. Frankly, as much as I like SMG, I think the newer PDK and M-DCT are superior. There may be reasons not to like the Panamera but I doubt it will be the transmission.

jcnesq

You're probably right but I dunno.

yemenmocha

I'm fairly sure that the M5 has horrible accident ratings for side impacts. In fact, the M5 is the WORST luxury car for side impacts:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20289885/

BMW 5 series is even beaten by Kia:
http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr081607.html

TT Surgeon

The 996 and 997 are both extremely safe cars in an accident,

Macster

Interesting reading. I point out that we do not, well, I do not know how the Carrera fares in the same tests. It might fare even worse than the M5.

And the OP asked about the Carrera compared to the E60 M5. Is E60 a new model or an older one? The tests did mention the M5 used was a 2008 MY and redesigned.

I agree with other posters. I too feel very safe in my Turbo (and even Boxster).

However, I do remember from the accident in my Cayman making contact with the door and side window, fortunately not enough to hurt me but enough force to know I made contact. My passenger reported he bumped his head though same as me and not wtih too much force against the door glass on his side. The car was struck at about the center of the left front wheel (by an 89 Volvo 240) -- the blow an oblique blow with the impacting car continuing down starting at driver's side headlight and into the driver's door skin -- which shoved my car against the curb to the immediate right of the car.

My contact with the door/window arose from the initial impact while my passenger's contact came from the secondary impact of the car being shoved rather violently against the curb. I half expected or imagined it later that I expected the side airbags would deploy but they did not.

My point is that the more distance one can place between passengers and the sides of the passenger car, all other things being equal, is good. The Carrera's rear seat looks to be -- I've never sat back there -- a tight space.

While I know many prefer a larger SUV like vehicle for crash survivability I remember reading that single vehicle accidents with these vehicles result in a pretty high death rate for the vehicle's occupants. Mostly because of the vehicle's propensity to roll over.

My info -- source escapes me but the info is recent -- frontal impacts most common collision, with side impacts next in frequency.

When I was shopping for a replacement for my Cayman dealer showed me a letter written by a Carrera owner who thanked Porsche for building a sturdy car. His new car suffered a side impact -- by a Jeep sedan of some kind IIRC -- centered on the driver's door and while the driver suffered some injuries (broken ankle or wrist, cracked ribs, some cracked vertebrae in his neck, he felt convinced it would have been much worse had he been in another car. I was surprised to see the extent the side of the car was caved in. It was not very much. Which sort of makes a good case for the Carrera being potentially safer in a side collision.

It is a tough choice. Many many drivers will drive their whole life with no collision and the choice of car in this regard makes no differerence. But I can understand the desire to want to make the safer choice especially when one's children are concerned.

Sincerely,

Macster.

sparkhill

I do know that Audi agrees with you. They will disable rear side air bags one time for no charge if you plan on transporting children in the rear seats.

TrackDays247.com

Not as safe, but still reasonably safe .... so go for it -

Toted my daughter around in the back of my 911 for several yrs starting @ 1 month old

neros

Porsches are built like tanks

[youtube]_MczoR1LVh0[/youtube]

Quadcammer

Oh you mean race cars with full roll cages are built like tanks.

The 997 is a safe enough car, but I would wager that the M5 is safer.

I wouldn't worry about the safety of your children much in either case.

neros

I agree that he shouldn't worry but I am just not sure what you are basing your "wager" on. You could argue the M5 has a longer nose and trunk which adds more material to crumple and slow down an accident making it safer. The real answer would be in crash test ratings which I'm sure are available somewhere. Both cars have been in production for a very long time and have been improved every generation.