Does the Toyota Vios have an anti-collision beam?

[Kristin]

Toyota Vios is equipped with an anti-collision beam, which is made of cold-rolled steel plate pressed into a U-shaped groove and connected to the vehicle frame longitudinal beam. As the first line of defense in passive safety, the anti-collision beam is an important safety device that absorbs and mitigates external impact forces, protecting the front and rear of the vehicle body. The vehicle's exterior dimensions are 4435mm in length, 1700mm in width, and 1490mm in height, with a wheelbase of 2550mm. The Toyota Vios is powered by a 1.5L naturally aspirated engine, paired with either a 5-speed manual transmission or an 8-speed continuously variable transmission, delivering a maximum horsepower of 110 PS, a maximum power of 81 kW at 6000 rpm, and a maximum torque of 138 Nm and 139 Nm.

[McGeorge]

When I first drove the Vios, I also looked into this matter. The rear anti-collision beam on the Vios from 10 years ago was basically just for show—it was made of a very thin single-layer stamped steel plate. Later, many owners complained, and the new generation did improve. Nowadays, the domestically produced Vios does have a rear anti-collision beam, with a steel beam about 1.2 millimeters thick, but it's still not the same as the composite structure with energy-absorbing boxes found in German cars. The front anti-collision beam is quite sturdy, though—if you remove the bumper, you can see it's double-layered, mainly to meet crash test requirements. In reality, the anti-collision beam can save you money on repairs during low-speed collisions, but in high-speed crashes, it ultimately depends on the energy-absorbing design of the entire vehicle frame.

[DeCamila]

I've seen a dismantled accident-damaged Vios at the repair shop. Let me get straight to the point: It definitely has a front anti-collision beam, made of aluminum alloy with crumple guide grooves, capable of withstanding impacts at 25 km/h. However, the rear anti-collision beam depends on the model year - post-2017 domestic models were all equipped with a 1.5mm steel beam, while earlier models genuinely didn't have one. Here's a lesser-known fact: Toyota used a sandwich-structured longitudinal beam in this car, causing the engine to drop during collisions to prevent intrusion into the cabin. Don't just focus on that beam - the B-pillar's 1500MPa hot-formed steel is actually more critical. In a recent side collision case I saw, the B-pillar's deformation control outperformed some domestic models.

[Rosemary]

From the perspective of a body engineer, the GMT composite material bumper beam of the Vios is the true protagonist. In addition to the aluminum main beam at the front, it is also equipped with polypropylene foam energy-absorbing blocks, which have been tested to absorb 15% of low-speed collision energy. The rear anti-collision beam was upgraded to high-tensile steel plate after the 2019 facelift, with its cross-section changed to an I-shape to improve bending resistance. Interestingly, the rear longitudinal beams of this car feature hydraulic crumple zones, which are absent in the front longitudinal beams, providing better protection for the fuel tank during rear-end collisions. The thickness of the anti-collision beam does not fully represent safety; the key lies in the vehicle's force transmission path—the Vios' sill beams are reinforced with five layers of strengthening plates, which are fundamental for survival in high-speed collisions.

[MacEvangeline]

For those who have driven the Southeast Asian version of the Vios, here are some practical insights. The Thai version uses a 3mm thick C-shaped steel for the rear crash beam, while the domestic version didn't get a 1.2mm one until 2019. The main crash beam in the front bumper, however, follows a global standard—made of aluminum alloy with eight energy-absorbing box mounting points. Once, I rear-ended a taxi at 40 km/h; the taxi's rear bumper was completely shattered, while my car only had some paint scratches. Upon disassembly, the crash beam showed no deformation at all. However, it's worth noting that this car relies mainly on trunk space for rear collision energy absorption, so getting rear-ended by an SUV could be more disadvantageous.