Johannesburg - Global NCAP has released the results of its third crash testing session for South African spec vehicles, in partnership with the Automobile Association, and the results are mostly positive, although there are a few red flags over child safety.
Global NCAP tested three vehicles this time around, with the Toyota Avanza and Honda Amaze both scoring four stars for adult occupant protection and the Suzuki Ignis managing three.
The news wasn’t as positive on the child protection front, however, with the Avanza managing just two stars while the Amaze and Ignis disappointed with just one star.
The crash tests are conducted using two dummies (emulating 18-month-old and three-year-old children), placed in child seats recommended by the manufacturer. ISOFIX anchorages were fitted as standard on all three cars.
“The adult occupant results are encouraging but more work needs to be done to protect child occupants in vehicles,” said AA Chairman Sikkie Kajee.
“While we have minimum safety standards for vehicles in South Africa, we need to appreciate that minimum is not good enough.
“At the same time we want to encourage consumers to be more critical of safety features on vehicles before purchasing, and to be more mindful of their own, and their passengers’ safety.”
Global NCAP crash tested the entry-level version of each car in question, at 64km/h, and in all cases two airbags were fitted as standard.
Let’s take a closer look at how each car performed:
Toyota Avanza
The Avanza only just met the requirements for a four star rating for adult occupant protection and Global NCAP noted that the structure and footwell became unstable.
The two star child protection rating came as a result of the rear bench seat detaching from the car’s anchorages due to the forces exerted by the child seat and three-year-old dummy.
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Honda Amaze
The Honda Amaze performed solidly in the crash test, according to Global NCAP, and the vehicle’s structure and footwell were rated as stable.
However, both child dummies’ heads made contact with the interior of the vehicle, and in the 18-month-old’s case the armrest opened, hitting the child seat, breaking its handle lock and causing it to rotate.
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Suzuki Ignis
The Ignis scored three stars for adult occupation protection, with Global NCAP rating the structure as unstable and driver chest protection as weak.
Global NCAP awarded a low score for child protection because Suzuki did not recommend a child seat for the test.
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Best round so far
This was still the best batch of South African cars tested thus far, as the second round saw the Nissan Hardbody flunking completely with zero stars while the Toyota Yaris, Kia Picanto and Hyundai i20 all scored three stars.
In the first round of tests, the Chery QQ received a zero star lashing, while the Datsun Go got one star, the Renault Sandero and Volkswagen Polo Vivo three stars apiece and the Toyota Etios four stars.