OVER the years, car safety features on entry-level vehicles has improved, with the majority offering moderate to acceptable features.
This is according to the 2022 Automobile Association (AA) Entry-level Vehicle Safety Report (ELVS), that assesses safety features on cars available in Mzansi.
The value limit for cars considered has increased from previous years to R270 000.
Thirty-eight cars were included in this year’s report and assessed for safety features. However, the report did not consider the structural integrity of the driver/passenger compartment. The cars were categorised into three groups based on their safety ratings – acceptable, moderate and poor safety.
In the 2022 ELVS Report, four cars were categorised as having poor safety, 23 in moderate and 11 in acceptable. In terms of true safety points achieved, if a car gets 20 points or less, they are considered as having poor safety. Safety points between 20 and 50 can be considered as moderate while points 50 and above is acceptable.
According to the AA, the fact that so many cars offered moderate or acceptable safety was encouraging and indicated that manufacturers were taking the presence of critical safety equipment seriously.
The association pointed out that this research did not provide a definitive measure of safety, that could only be determined through crash-testing.
The cars surveyed were evaluated against the number of active safety features they had (anti-lock braking systems and electronic stability control) and passive safety features (air bags). Points were awarded to cars for the existence of each of the active and passive safety features.
Additional points were awarded to cars crash-tested under the NCAP system, in this case Global NCAP’s #SaferCarsforAfrica programme.
The Fiat 500, Honda Amaze, Mahindra VUV 300 and Renault Kwid were among cars that scored highest with the acceptable safety score.
On moderate safety, the BAIC D20 Hatchback, Datsun Go, Hyundai Atos, Nissan NP200 and Polo Vivo scored between 20 and 50.
And on the poor safety front is the JMC Carrying S/C SWB 1.6, JMC Carrying S/C SWB chassis Cab, Mahindra BMT and Suzuki Carry 1.2 pick-up the lowest among all.
