The list would more likely go: Airbags; ABS; T/C; ESP; EBD; C/C AirCon….

One reason is as you pointed out because of the difference and discrepancies between Australia and Europe not to mention makes and models..

The ANCrAP assessment schedule and scoring system is rather complicated.. whereas Joe Average can walk into a showroom and clearly see that a particular car has 6 airbags whilst its direct rival from another make only has 4 – that in itself helps more people make the decision as to what car to buy much easier than the ANCrAP tests.

Then there are all the other features on their list that a particular car may or may not have compared to its rivals.. the more features that a car has that are on the list the more likely people are to buy it.

My point is People tend to buy the car which is most suitable to their needs most practical etc, Besides most modern cars have enough safety devices to help avoid an accident.. the main one being an intelligent alert and responsive driver

My theory is if the ANCrAP tests are SO important to you you should buy a Sherman Tank – simple!

The most relevant safety feature in any car is the driver, closely followed by the drivers in other cars on the road, of course.

The 4 star rating of the new Barina has made me think hard about what all this really means to the driver and passengers in the car. What does 4 star mean in terms of somparative safety and integrity of a vehicle?

My Vectra C CDXi has a Euro NCAP 4 star rating, even with 6 ‘bags, ABS/EBD/EBA/CBC/TC/ESP+ and a bunch of other supplementary restraints. How well this star rating protects me is the question I would like answered.

Am I equally as well protected from similar impacts in a 4 star TK9 Barina, with only 4 ‘bags or a a star Viva with just 4 ‘bags and no ABS/ESP?, Or am I more vulnerable in my Vec than in a 4 star VE Commodore with 6 bags and all the electonic active and supplementary safety features?

Is a 5 star Astra as safe as a 5 star Falcon?

All the NCAP star ratings are lab generated and a good guide to crash protection of certain types. Real world crash data has no doubt contributed to the design integrity of all-new chassis technology (ie VE/new Camry/Aurion etc) but how do you compare apples with apples?

The 4 star Camry/Aurion had a higher overall points rating than the VE when tested yet I would think the integrity of the passenger cell in the VE is greater.

Perhaps the NCAP rating system should be broken down into component parts…..maybe independent ratings on the effectiveness of
• active safety (on-the-road tests etc)
• crash avoidance technologies ESP/ABS etc)
• passive features (supplementary restraints)
• crashworthiness (chassis integrity/lab tests etc)

The current Series II Epica has a 4 star Euro NCAP rating, and I think a 5 star Korean NCAP assessment. There’s no doubt it has better crash avoidance and passive safety features than the equally (Euro NCAP) rated Viva. There’s no doubt as well that with its equal rating to the VE Commodore, it would not perform as well in impact tests.

So, I s’pose I’m no clearer in this than anyone else. The JF Viva, ZC Vectra, EP Epica and VE (also VT-VZ) Commodore all have 4 NCAP stars but huge discrepencies in active/passive/supplementary and chassis safety design & technologies.

Any input on this is welcome!

When I bought my car, just for kicks i went and drove the Barina. I asked the dealer… So hows the safety on this compared to say a Yaris… he said yea its very good… I was laughing on the inside. what a load of bs. I really should have laughed in his face.

I went and got the Yaris with the full safety pack which was 5 Stars at the time (not anymore as the rules have changed for ESP etc) and that was the only car that was in my price range to have 5 stars.

But I wish i waited a few months for th Mazda 2. Much nicer car.

Nonetheless for the new Daewoo to get a 4 star safety rating compared to last years model shows how much the Barina has improved…. particularly when you consider ANCrAP have made their assessment criteria more stringent than before.. and that is something they [Holden] should be commended for,

So how stong was the old steel used on the barina? Pretty weak.

Therefore, does that mean that the old TK Barina has very bad resale? I guess so, hey?