I see this claim tossed around a lot, but is there really a documented significant effect on safety from not having an engine up front? I mean, with a car havin

I see this claim tossed around a lot, but is there really a documented significant effect on safety from not having an engine up front? I mean, with a car having that huge front, is there not so much space for crumple zones that engine or not is insignificant? Now I know the Model S claims "best in class NHTSA rating", but no comparable luxury sedan has been crash tested by either US NHTSA or Euro NCAP. That's right, neither the BMW 7-series, the Audi A8 nor the Mercedes S-class have been tested. So we just don't know. Edit: Update: I've checked various other cars, and the only one I could find where both an EV and a non-EV version have been crash tested in the same year is the 2014 Kia Soul (a small MPV) Euro NCAP tests. For that car, the diesel one did worse than the EV on driver protection, specifically of the feet, which was caused by spot welds (presumably in the torpedo wall) breaking and sharp edges protruding near the driver's feet. But for child safety, which is more focused on just acceleration and thus a better proxy for crumple zones, the cars were equal. So this seems more indicative of a design fault with the Soul than a lack of crumple zones.