Pontiac Trans Sport/Montana
1997-2005 modelsresults also apply to: 1997-2005 Chevrolet Venture | 1997-2004 Oldsmobile Silhouette
MODERATE OVERLAP FRONT TEST
OVERALL EVALUATION:
| Structure/safety cage | Injury measures | Restraints/dummy kinematics | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head/neck | Chest | Leg/foot, left | Leg/foot, right | ||
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Important: Frontal crash test ratings can be compared only among vehicles of similar weight.
Good
Acceptable
Marginal
Poor
Test details:
The Pontiac Trans Sport (renamed Montana in 1999), the Chevrolet Venture, and the Oldsmobile Silhouette were redesigned for the 1997 model year. The Silhouette was dropped after the 2004 model year, and a limited number of Pontiac Montanas and Chevrolet Ventures were manufactured for the 2005 model year.
Restraints/dummy kinematics — Dummy movement wasn't well controlled. After moving forward into the airbag, the dummy's head and neck were snapped rearward as the steering wheel intruded. Then the dummy's head was hit from behind by the seatback and head restraint as they tilted forward because of floor buckling. The seat continued moving forward and pushed down on top of the dummy's head, bending its neck back even farther.
Injury measures — Measures taken from the chest indicate low risk of injuries to this body region in a crash of this severity. Forces on the neck indicate that injuries to the neck would be likely. Forces on both tibias indicate that injuries to the lower legs would be likely. The forces on the left lower leg were so high that the dummy's metal foot broke off from its leg at the ankle.
Left to right:
- Action shot taken during the frontal offset crash test.
- Major collapse of the occupant compartment left little survival space for the driver.
- Extreme steering wheel movement violently snapped the dummy's head backward (see arrow).
- The unnatural position of the dummy's left foot (see circled area) indicates that an occupant's left leg and foot would have been seriously injured in a real-world crash of this severity.
Additional features:
- Side airbags: standard front seat-mounted torso airbags (1998-2000 models); standard or optional driver seat-mounted combination head and torso airbag with standard or optional front passenger seat-mounted torso airbag (2001-05 models)
- Built-in child restraints (optional on Venture models, 1997-2000 Trans Sport and Montana models, and 1997-1999 Silhouette models)
- Antilock brakes (optional on 2003-05 Venture and Montana models, standard on 2003-04 Silhouette models and all 1997-2002 models)
- Daytime running lights
Tested vehicle specifications:
- 1997 Pontiac Trans Sport SE
- Class: Minivan
- Weight: 3,783 lbs.
- Side airbags: none
- Wheelbase: 112 in.
- Length: 187 in.
- Width: 73 in.
- Engine: 3.4 L V6
- EPA ratings: 18 mpg city | 25 mpg highway
