How entry-level vehicles fared in safety report

The French-manufactured Peugeot 108, is considered the safest entry-level vehicle in the country ccording to the AA’s latest Entry-Level Vehicle Safety Report.

The French-manufactured Peugeot 108, is considered the safest entry-level vehicle in the country ccording to the AA’s latest Entry-Level Vehicle Safety Report.

Published Aug 14, 2020

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Durban - IF YOU drive a French-manufactured Peugeot 108, you are considered to be driving the safest entry-level vehicle in the country. If you drive a Chinese-manufactured Changan Star III SC STD, you are in the least safest vehicle.

This is according to the AA’s latest Entry-Level Vehicle Safety Report, conducted to highlight vehicle-safety features at a time when many people are looking to downsize their vehicles.

“The current socio-economic outlook remains negative reflecting the same, if not a heavier, burden to South African consumers in 2020 than in previous years,” the AA said.

“Compounding the situation further is the current global Covid-19 pandemic. For this reason, the entry-level vehicle market remains one of the most competitive, as motorists seek more affordable driving options with lower prices which are, however, sometimes attained at the expense of safety features.”

The report was also done in light of the number of annual road fatalities and the growing vehicle population.

The AA reported that last year the country recorded 12 503 road fatalities. Of the 11 267 812 vehicles, more than 7.3 million were motor vehicles.

“The large vehicle population and high road fatality figure point to a need for extensive road safety education and the need for better road safety management in the country. They also point to a need for consumers to prioritise safety in the vehicles they purchase. The report should serve as a basis for their research,” the AA said.

For the report, 27 entry level vehicles, priced under R200 000, from 16 manufacturers were tested and scored according to their active and passive safety features.

The vehicles were categorised into three groups based on their safety ratings: Acceptable Safety (50 points and above), Moderate Safety (20 to 50 points) and Poor Safety (20 points or less). It did not consider the structural integrity of the driver/passenger compartment but only whether the vehicles were equipped with features such as ABS, stability control (active) and airbags (passive). Extra points were given to vehicles crash tested under the New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) system.

The Peugeot 108 received the highest safety rating - 110 points. It was the only vehicle to include all safety features and contain a curtain airbag. The report stated the vehicle would probably have obtained a higher score had it been crash tested, and the AA therefore recommended all manufacturers crash test their vehicles.

“These tests will not only improve the safety results of the cars but will also provide authoritative demonstrations of the vehicles’ safety levels.”

Peugeot said the vehicle’s ultimate selling point was its safety credentials.

“Humans will always make mistakes which may result in accidents. It is, therefore, more necessary than ever for vehicles to be equipped with safety features that prevent accidents and compensate for human error. An entry-level vehicle need not be a safety hazard on the road.”

The VW Take Up!, the Suzuki Ignis, Toyota Etios and Aygo as well as the Datsun Go+ also scored in acceptable safety.

Mzo Witbooi, the spokesperson for Toyota, said the Etios represented one of the core models for Toyota.

“While there are many reasons for us to be proud of this great result, the main one is that it proves that affordable doesn’t necessarily mean cheap when it comes to Toyota products. This is equally true of the Aygo. Compact doesn’t necessarily mean unsafe.”

He said it was a priority to eliminate traffic fatalities.

“Toyota has been developing safety features and conducting extensive research and development on safety, which involves conducting crash tests and simulations on its own, and then analysing the results to continually improve its safety features.”

Among those in the moderate safety ranking included the Hyundai Atos, the Hyundai Grand i10, the Renault Kwid and Renault Triber as well as two Nissan vehicles.

Viviene Ward, the spokesperson for Renault, said safety was a key selling point for Triber.

In response to the Triber rating a zero for the NCAP crash testing system, she said the vehicles were sent to Germany to undergo the Global NCAP test in February but did not yet have the results.

She said Renault had improved the safety of the Kwid during the past year by adding ABS + SBR, passenger airbag and an improved roadholding thanks to the 14” wheels and a new rear axle.

“However, being a facelift, the fundamental structure of the car has not changed, so the GNCAP results will remain similar, even if the passenger safety will be better thanks to the additional airbag. We have taken the right steps towards improving the safety of Kwid with NEW KWID but we don’t expect to see the great jump in the GNCAP crash test results until the arrival of the totally New Kwid.”

Deon Sonnekus of Hyundai said it was not happy about the findings and thought it was a flawed exercise.

Veralda Schmidt, the spokesperson for Nissan, said it ensured all local safety regulations were met.

“We remain committed to continuously improve our vehicles. The next 18 months will see a number of new products being introduced into the market where we do business, both in South Africa as well as sub-Sahara Africa.”

The Changan Star III SC STD received the lowest safety rating - zero points.

Joining the Changan at the bottom were the GWM Steed 5 Single Cab 2.2 Mpi 4x2 workhorse F/L, the Changan Star III Minivan 5 Seats STD, the Mahindra Bolero Single Cab Maxi truck and the Suzuki Super Carry. All the vehicles did not have a driver’s airbag, front passenger airbag, side airbags, curtain airbags, ESC or ABS. They were also not crash tested under the NCAP system.

The manufacturers did not respond to requests for comment.

Overall, the AA found the inclusion of some safety features on entry- level vehicles remained low, although there were positive developments.

The least common safety features were curtain airbags and side airbags.

It was also found that only three vehicles were equipped with Electronic Stability Control, which is said to have proven technology to reduce crashes.

“It’s astonishing and discouraging that so few vehicles come equipped with this technology as standard for entry-level vehicles,” said the AA.

A positive note was that 26 of the 27 vehicles tested were equipped with ABS brakes and had front driver and passenger airbags.

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