And despite the black...
And despite the black coverings, the pictures reveal that the new compact executive hatch has the same proportions as the concept seen at the Detroit Motor Show. With a steeply raked rear window and chunky lines, the C30 brings the look of the late Eighties 480ES and original P1800ES bang up-to-date.
Instead of using a single...
Instead of using a single bag to protect the occupant during an accident, this new system has two surface areas which spread the force of the impact more evenly in the event of a crash.
A spokesman said: "The design helps to avoid some of the injuries inflicted on passengers by standard airbags. Rather than simply hitting a person"s face, it will come into contact with their shoulders and chest, too, reducing the force on any one area of the body." The first car to benefit from the new twin-bags approach is the next Lexus IS. The rest of the Lexus and Toyota ranges are set to follow suit.
Because of the way in which the clever bags are deployed, they are suitable only for front-seat passengers and won"t be used in any other part of the car. This is not the first time that the Japanese manufacturer has pioneered passive safety technology. The 2003 Avensis saloon was the first mass-production model to feature knee airbags.