The long-running Nissan Tsuru is about to head into the junkyard in the sky, despite being Mexico’s least-expensive new car. This crash test video is a reason why it’s going away.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety on Monday released an offset frontal crash test between a Nissan Tsuru and a 2016 Nissan Versa Sedan, the least-expensive new car sold in the U.S. right now. Considering the Tsuru lacks airbags and is essentially an early-’90s design that’s been lightly updated over the last couple of decades, it’s understandably going to end up in worse shape than the comparatively modern Versa.
But the way the Tsuru crumples as the Versa slams into the left side of its front end shows how small cars have advanced over the last 25 years. A Versa may weigh more than a Tsuru, but it has a full array of airbags and its passenger compartment has been better strengthened and designed to absorb impacts.
The Tsuru also failed the Latin NCAP crash test earlier this year, scoring absolutely zero stars out of five. Officials then urged Nissan to stop selling the vehicle ahead of new legislation forcing automakers to sell safer vehicles with modern safety engineering.
Oddly enough, Nissan will show prospective buyers models like the Versa once Tsuru production ends in April.
For now, you can watch the video yourself.