GLOBAL NCAP and the Automobile Association of South Africa has launched the #SaferCarsforAfrica campaign in Cape Town. The campaign coincides with the first independent crash tests of some of South Africa’s most popular compact cars.
According to organisers: "The crashworthiness results of the five cars tested show a wide range of safety performance, from four to zero stars for adult protection, with the lowest ratings resulting in a high probability of life threatening injury in a road crash."
The models tested include South Africa’s best-selling car, the VW Polo Vivo, as well as the Datsun Go+, Toyota Etios, Renault Sandero and Chery QQ3. Combined sales of these five cars account for around 65% of all the new cars sold in South Africa 2016, according to the AA.
Five of SA's most popular compact vehicles tested in the first @GlobalNCAP crash tests results for Africa. #SaferCarsForAfrica @AASouthAfrica pic.twitter.com/1WbdP4Y1dN
— Wheels24 (@Wheels24) November 22, 2017
For its tests, Global NCAP chose the entry-level variant of each model and as a result one of them was not fitted with airbags as standard.
Toyota Etios - 4/5
According to the Global NCAP:"The Etios achieved a four star rating for adult occupant protection in the frontal crash test at 64km/h. The vehicle structure was rated as stable, offering good general adult occupant protection. The car included seatbelts with pretensioners for both front passengers. Using the child seats recommended by Toyota, the Etios achieved a three star rating for child occupant protection."
Renault Sandero - 3/5
According to the Global NCAP:"The Sandero achieved a three star rating for adult occupant protection in the frontal crash test at 64km/h. The vehicle structure was rated as stable, offering acceptable general adult occupant protection. The car did not include seatbelt pretensioners. Using the child seats recommended by Renault, the Sandero achieved a four star rating for child occupant protection.
Volkswagen Polo Vivo - 3/5
According to the Global NCAP: "The Polo Vivo achieved a three star rating for adult occupant protection in the frontal crash test at 64km/h. The vehicle structure was rated as stable, offering acceptable adult occupant protection. The car did not include seatbelt pretensioners. Using the child seats recommended by VW, the Polo Vivo achieved a three star rating for child protection.
Datsun GO+ - 1/5
According to the Global NCAP:"The GO+ achieved a one star rating for its poor adult occupant protection mainly in the Driver chest in the frontal crash test at 64km/h. The vehicle structure was rated as unstable, steering wheel movement, even though a steering wheel airbag was fitted, recorded high compression to the chest of the driver dummy. There was no airbag for the passenger. The Datsun GO+ achieved a two star rating for child occupant protection using the child seats."
Chery QQ3 - 0/5
According to the Global NCAP:"The QQ3 achieved a zero star rating for its poor adult occupant protection mainly in driver’s head and chest. The vehicle structure was rated as unstable as showed collapsed in some relevant areas during the impact. Injury impacts recorded in the dummy head and chest in particular led to this result. There were no airbags for the adult passengers. The manufacturer did not recommend specific child seats which explains most of the points loss for child occupant protection. The QQ3 was given a zero star rating for child occupant protection, considering the poor vehicle readiness to safely accommodate the child seats."
SOURCE: WHEELS 24
