Safety
Old VW Golf Meets Modern Crash Test: Proof of How Far Car Safety Has Come
Had there been people inside the Golf Mk2, they would’ve had little chance of surviving.
Enthusiasts and journalists often complain about car bloat. Today’s vehicles are noticeably bigger and heavier than those from a few decades ago, with much of that added bulk dictated by safety regulations. Still, you’re far more likely to survive a head-on collision in a modern car than in an equivalent model built 20-30 years ago. This new crash test of an old Volkswagen serves as a stark reminder of how much car safety has advanced.
Dekra, an independent car safety organization founded in Berlin in 1925, put a second-generation Golf through the rigor of a modern crash test. The goal was to showcase how far safety has come by comparing the 1989 hatchback with its present-day successor, an eighth-gen example built in 2024. For this unusual test, the German testing, inspection, and certification body managed to secure a 36-year-old car in excellent technical condition.
At its crash test center in Neumünster, Dekra launched the Golf II into a barrier at about 40 mph (60 km/h), simulating the frontal crash test procedure used by Euro NCAP until 2020. The barrier was equipped with a deformation element to mimic the energy absorption of an opposing vehicle. Under these conditions, the test reproduced a head-on collision between two identical cars traveling at 31-34 mph (50-55 km/h).
As if the scary aftermath images weren’t convincing enough, a Dekra expert summed up the results grimly: “In the Golf II, occupants would have had little chance of surviving this head-on collision due to the collapse of the passenger compartment, the deep penetration of vehicle components into the passenger compartment, the deceleration and the impact on the steering wheel.”
The outcome was very different for the Golf VIII tested under the exact same conditions. Had it been occupied, passengers likely would have walked away with only minor injuries: “The entire passenger compartment remained completely intact, and the occupants were very well protected by the front and side airbags in combination with the seat belts, belt tensioners, and belt force limiters.”
Dekra didn’t stop at crashing a 1989 Golf in the name of safety. Braking tests revealed the eighth-gen car needed about 30 percent less distance to come to a full stop. Cornering stability was also examined in a maneuver test, with the modern VW safely completing it at 47 mph (75 km/h) compared to just 40 mph (65 km/h) for its predecessor.
The differences extended to visibility as well. The new car’s standard LED headlights proved to be “in a completely different league” than the halogen bulbs of its ancestor. At the rear, LED taillights improved visibility for following drivers, enhanced further by the third brake light absent on the 1989 model. It’s worth mentioning that the extra brake light wasn’t mandated in Europe until the late 1990s, though some cars had adopted it sooner.
While the simplicity of an old car certainly has its charm, there’s no denying that a Golf II looks more like a death trap compared to its modern counterpart.
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Volvo May Finally Get Rid of Its Most Annoying Feature
So long, key card. You won’t be missed.
When I drove the Volvo EX30, one of the most frustrating features was its key card entry system. Instead of a traditional key fob, the EX30 uses a credit card-sized device for entry and startup. It was maddening.
Thankfully, the key card may soon be a thing of the past. According to Stephen Connor, Managing Director of Volvo Australia, customers simply don’t like the system—and it’s easy to understand why.
In an interview with Australian outlet Drive, Connor revealed that the company is considering scrapping the key card altogether, currently used in both the EX30 and EX90. Instead, Volvo wants owners to use their smartphones. As Connor explains:
‘Our plan is to try to get people to use the phone as the key. That’s what we’re trying to push people to do. I can then unlock the car from anywhere. The card is a backup plan.’
Unfortunately, Volvo’s push to have owners use their smartphones as keys isn’t going entirely as planned either. According to Connor, the EX30 was originally targeted at customers between the ages of 24 and 50—but in reality, most buyers are significantly older. “It’s more people in their fifties to eighties who are buying the car,” he says.
So, does this mean Volvo might bring back the beloved key fob for the EX30 and EX90? That remains unclear—but we can at least dream.
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