How much is your life worth?

Published Jul 20, 2005

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Munich, Germany - Automobile association ADAC has warned that safety is sometimes sacrificed in the cheap basic models offered by several major car manufacturers in a bid to improve sales on a stagnant European market.

The Brazilian-built Volkswagen Fox received four out of five possible stars for safety in a crash test but the Romanian Dacia Logan was described by the ADAC as "not convincing".

It compared data from crash tests it had conducted with those run by the Euro NCAP and said in its magazine: "The VW Fox proves even cheap cars can be very safe.

"However our data comparison also shows that cheap prices can also come at the cost of safety.

"The Dacia Logan sets the benchmark for price but absolutely does not convince on safety."

The Dacia Logan and the Kia Picanto received only three star ratings, with the ADAC pointing out that the Dacia did not offer enough passenger protection and had too long a braking distance.

The Logan is built by Renault in Romania and sells in Europe for €7 200 (about R84 000 at 20/07/05).

The ADAC, however, also urged Volkswagen to include head airbags as an optional extra on the €9 045 (R105 000) Fox.

The ADAC said second spot in the safety test was taken by the Citroën C1, which is almost identical to the Peugeot 107 and Toyota's Aygo. The Aygo, however, got a bonus point because it was offered with standard head airbags.

The two-seater Smart For Two was awarded three stars for relatively good passenger protection but scored low marks for pedestrian safety. - Sapa-DPA

ADAC crash test scores:

- Volkswagen Fox: 28 points/four stars

- Citroen C1: 26 points/four stars

- Smart For Two: 23 points/three stars

- Dacia Logan: 19 points/three stars

- Kia Picanto: 19 points/three stars

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