New small cars widen safety choice for buyers
May 27, 2009 by Matt Brogan
EuroNCAP, the organisation that assesses the safety of new cars, today releases the results for six new cars. Five out of the six cars received EuroNCAP’s maximum five star award.
EuroNCAP is pleased to note that a number of less expensive cars were among these high performers. In these economically challenging times, consumers who wish to downsize their cars can still place safety at the top of their wish list.
EuroNCAP’s top scorers with five star results are the Audi Q5, Honda Jazz, Hyundai i20, Kia Soul and Peugeot 3008. Of these, all but the Q5 are superminis or small cars. Another small car, the Suzuki Alto scored three stars, its rating limited by its performance in adult occupant protection, child protection and safety assistance technologies.
In response to EuroNCAP’s new rating scheme Suzuki has now made ESC at least optional on all Alto variants. In contrast the Audi Q5, the Kia Soul and the Peugeot 3008 have ESC as standard equipment throughout the model range.
“At the heart of the new Rating Scheme is the objective to offer consumers a full picture of a car’s overall safety performance. EuroNCAP is now able to emphasise the importance of new safety technologies that assist a vehicle’s behaviour before an accident regardless of its size,” says Michiel van Ratingen, Secretary General of EuroNCAP. “EuroNCAP is also considering a wider range of future important technologies and driver assistance systems. Many claim that the weight and size of a car is the only criteria for safety. We believe that there are other aspects of safety that are just as important. The smaller cars we tested whose results are released today show that size should not stand in the way of all-round safety.”
EuroNCAP commended the Honda Jazz and the Hyundai i20 for their impressive pedestrian scores that not only meet current requirements, but also meet EuroNCAP’s future requirements.
Seats from the Kia Soul achieved a good result in the programme’s whiplash testing, again revealing that it is not only larger or expensive cars that achieve impressive results in safety.
From 2009, EuroNCAP’s new overall rating covers Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection, Pedestrian Protection and a new area of assessment: Safety Assist. Under the new testing regime, vehicles are awarded a single overall score from one to five stars.
The assessment incorporates all previous aspects and includes the recently introduced Rear Impact (whiplash) tests. In addition, the availability of ESC and speed limitation devices is considered.
The overall rating is based on the car’s performance in each of the four main areas and the scores are weighted with respect to each other.
Over the next three years, stricter requirements will be introduced increasing the emphasis on all-round safety performance and demanding higher levels of achievement in each area.
Source: EuroNCAP
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Good to see Kia and Hyundai getting some high scores here!
Bloody hell, Kia are on a roll! Although I would only buy maybe 1 or 2 Korean cars, they are still making great advancements!
Yes, Kia are actually a good carmaker. In recent reviews, they have got nothing but praise from the people here at CarAdvice. I accept them and would take a Cerato over a Corolla or anything else in that class but there still seem to be so many badge snobs looking past how good their cars actually are.
And is the Peugeot 3008 a 7-seater? I thought it was a larger car, but here it says its a supermini.
Sorry, I was thinking of the 4007…
Yes, the Koreans are coming, the Koreans are coming !
Hyundai, now Kia are surprising everyone with how good they are now.
Holden are about to launch the 5-star, German engineered Cruze which will be another quality small car like the new Hyundai i30 and Kia Cerato.
Very soon, todays Mazda3, Focus, Corolla and Golf will be seen as premium, expensive small cars and their sales will start to soften as a result.
Hey Speedy I agree, especially since the new Government laws came in that car manufacturers have to display the full on road drive-away costs, I think you will see the Corolla’s, Mazda3 etc. hitting close to $30,000 big ones.
With the Korean small cars under $25,000 on road, this will be the new bench mark, and the small car buying masses will follow.
in my opinion these small cars have already ‘jumped the shark’ (so to speak)
the larger more luxurious hatches are in the 1,350-1,450kg!
the base auto Mazda 3 is $24k!
one can easily hit $30k drive out on a carefully optioned base Mazda 3
it’s getting kinda ridiculous because the reality is the cars have not kept pace with that little incident called the global financial crisis
fair enough they have fixed expenses but you can see what’s happening overseas already…
Suzuki have two classes of car under the Swift
Hyundai have the Indian made i10 and i20 under the i30. God knows how people will take to an Indian made Korean car.
Toyota have cars like the Aygo on the Euro market for years.
My question might be what can an i30 do that an i20 can’t do?
I drive two turbocharged guzzlers but I can see that unless you are profligate in regards to your money and the environment, the day of the big car is over. If small cars are as safe as big cars and they have similar utility, why not?
Steve-Poyza – You’re correct Steve, the Pug 3008 is NOT a supermini its an enlarged 308 which in itself is NOT a supermini. CA must be thinking 1007 which has been around a few years now.
All this raises questions aimed squarely at those who buy large 4WD’s quoting safety is better in a 4WD. I actually beg to differ, a 4WD is untrinsically less safe due to poorer road holding, body roll, increased weight etc etc.
Said he throwing the cat amongst the Vultures.
You are quite right Cupid, but the safety ‘perception’ that is attached to big 4WDs arises through the situation where they go out of control due to their clumsiness then plough head-on into your i30, leaving their occupants less harmed than you purely due to the sheer relative weight and mass involved.
People who buy these things for ’safety’ reasons need to be locked up for placing their lives ahead of those of others.
I would give credit to Mitsubishi Lancer to spearhead safety haul in medium small class. They had 5 star rating and ESP standard when Toyota Corolla didn’t know what that is.
i30 is commendable for the price it gives the amojnt of the car.
Kia soul —hmmm, so nice that it has safety – but the funkiness costs thousand of dollars. I wouldn’t buy that. It has higher centre of gravity without much footing and I don’t know ancap or euroncap looks at that.
Shame on Suzuki – they are always dodgey players.
In small car perhaps i20 would be the best bragian —- Indian made Korean – but see, it has all the knots and bolts that is required.
Speedy Says:
May 27th, 2009 at 11:46 pm
Yes, the Koreans are coming, the Koreans are coming !
“..Holden are about to launch the 5-star, German engineered Cruze..”
That would be the Daewoo engineered Cruze. So what if a few Daewoo engineers went to Germany to finish off some things that they couldn’t get done in Korea.
It’s engineered by GM Daewoo, principally in Korea!
Let’s not confuse the issue with 4WDs. They are a different beast.
Compare a large 5 star car wiht a small/micro 5 star car and you ARE LESS LIKELY TO SUSTAIN INJURIES IN THE LARGER CAR.
If all else is equal, (energy absorption/dissipation, structural integrity of the passenger cell etc),t’s all to do with how much space there is around the occupants body.
ie. how far do you need to move before you contact part of the car, or the car caontacts you.
Doesn’t change the ratings, but that is the reallity. And BTW today’s small cars are getting vey good, and do now offer viable alternatives.
Captain & Confused, in answer to your questions (beliefs) about Large 4wd’s, can I draw your attention to the U.S. Crash lab photo above where an Accord isqtr fronting a Fits (Jazz in Aussie lingo) (Google small car versus medium crash test). Interesting article that shows that if you have two cars, in this case both 5*, there is a huge difference in the damage sustained between the small and medium. The Smart 4two did a 360 mid air spin effectively across two other lanes of traffic after hitting the C class Merc! Having watched that, I would rather be in a Non rated Ford Bronco than a five star I20 in an accident every day of the week.
As for the vehicles rolling over etc, that is not an error of the vehicle, that is the monkey behind the wheel.
Don’t take me wrong, I am not against the NCAP, I just wish they were to look at vehicle handling and crash avoidance as a much higher priority than crashworthiness. Newtons law cannot be overcome with some kevlar pillows and fancy seats.
I would not like to be a passanger of that Jazz in the photo above. So what you survived the crash because of its five star rating, the injuries sustained in the accident are probably just horrific.
No DesignEngr your wrong the new Cruze is a GM joint effort between Chev and Opel, its only built in a Daewoo factory
DesignEngr Says:
May 28th, 2009 at 11:09 am
Speedy Says:
May 27th, 2009 at 11:46 pm
Yes, the Koreans are coming, the Koreans are coming !
“..Holden are about to launch the 5-star, German engineered Cruze..”
That would be the Daewoo engineered Cruze. So what if a few Daewoo engineers went to Germany to finish off some things that they couldn’t get done in Korea.
It’s engineered by GM Daewoo, principally in Korea!
I agree Frontman, I would rather be in a Ford Bronco than an i20 too, there are so many more compelling reasons!
And Confused, you’re right about the Lancer however it is only a 4 star safety car at base level unless the $850 side and curtain airbags box is ticked. Really, when you think about it $850 is a relatively minor amount to spend to have 5 star safety.
ScottT,
Sorry to dissapoint you, but you are just regurgitating GM advertorial. What I wrote is correct.
The Cruze is Daewoo engineered. So what if a few Daewoo engineers went to Germany to finish off some things that they couldn’t get done in Korea.
It’s engineered by GM Daewoo, principally in Korea!
This rating system is very wrong. In a collision the bigger car would sustain less damage because of Newtons third law. The tests are done with deformable concrete barriers thereby making the car a giant shock absorber. Whereas in a real life situation both cars would transfer energy into each other and because the larger car is carrying more energy it would damage the smaller car a bit more.
My understanding is that a large 4WD is generally safer coming into a collision with a smaller car. In particular, the smaller car occupants can suffer because the 4WD comes in over the top of side intrusion bars in the doors, where it is T-boned (volvo have the bars going to the roof, I think, to avoid this, but it gives visibility issues). I think though, that where there are two large 4WD having a collision, the rigid chassis means that the risk of injury is exponentially increased, to almost a certainty – eg the classic “irresistable force v. immovable object” scenario – in particular for the drivers. Or I might be completely wrong!
I dont care what the ratings say, I wouldnt want to be in any Korean car in a smash.
Prejudice and stupidity are displayed in abundance yet again……..
Okay Reckless I can see where your thoughts on prejudice being displayed come from, but stupidity?? Please explain why you think that? If it purely on the Bais against Korea yes I agree, however if it is against the findings then I don’t understand
Korean cars a designed & built to meet a minimum standard. They are not designed to genuinely be a safe car for the sake of being safe like most of the European cars
Shane, reading your nonsensical rant against korean cars reminds me of this famous quote:
“Mr. Shane, what you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.”
The Kia Soul for example has achieved a 5 star NCAP. It passes the minimum standard that all cars should achieve in 2009.
Unless you can show me any scientific evidence that a Korean car that passes NCAP 5 is demonstrably unsafer than a comparably sized Japanese or American or European or Australian NCAP 5 car everyone will just have to assume that you are indeed a ‘Billy Madison’ on this site.
I’ll give you a good example. Unlike the Holden Cruze the Kia Ceed was designed in Germany by Germans, crashed in Germany and made in Eastern Europe. Is it designed to meet a ‘minimum standard’ because it’s got a Korean badge?
It is any more European than the supposedly European designed Cruze?
I wouldnt necessarily reject what Shane says out of hand, even though I dont know whether it is right or wrong. My missus has an s40 volvo (5 star). I would be infinitely happier crashing in that, than a Kia Soul. It goes well beyond the minimum 5 star requirements eg intrusion bars to roof, not door sills, key in centre so less risk of leg injury, the list goes on and on. I might be wrong, but I would expect that the prospect of walking away after being t-boned would be significantly better in the volvo.
Then again, I might be completely wrong!
There is some truth in the fact that they want to review the NCAP rating system.
The fact of the matter is every car walks out with a 5 star rating.
This is in my opinion, wrong. Does everyone who goes to school get a 99.9 TER?
That’s what this implies. It’s become a happy star award for manfacturers.
They should move to a system like American credit scores where a good car gets 750/1000 and where it is impossible to get a perfect score.
Your question about whether a 5 star Mercedes A class is better than a 5 star Kia is valid but in my mind that’s more one of brand perception.
You cannot make a rating system that makes all parties happy and is completely transparent.
I am pretty certain that if I crash my dad’s Mercedes C class I am assured of a similar survivabilty to a Kia Soul.
The best you can do is look at videos and crash reports of the two cars and make up your own mind.
Deep down I probably doubt the Holden Commodore is the same as Mercedes E class but if you’ve done all the research there’s little more you can do.
The NCAP ratings and all the others like it take into account a set of crashes at certain angles, speed etc that may happen in a crash. The unfortunate thing is that these type of crashes as per the parameters set on those tests rarely happen in the real world. The fact is that there are so many variables that can and do affect a crash situation that no simulation can mimic. Any car manufacturer that sets out purely to meet a 5 star NCAP rating is really just doing the minimum and anyone who thinks that just because their car has a 5 star crash rating it is a “safe” car is just living in a fools paradise.
The major euro manufacturers such as Mercedes, VW and BMW don’t just design cars to meet the minimum standard they set out to genuinely design their cars to be as safe as possible and I don’t think anyone can say that about a korean car regardless of its NCAP rating.
Tony,
I would have thought that there was a strong chance of a serious injury if you crashed your dad’s Mercedes C class.
Not neccessarily from the crash though……
Pretty simple really. How much does the Volvo cost compared to the Soul?
I mean Volvo can afford to go the extra yards because they charge more and cutting edge safety innovation also makes up part of their brand value.
It’s all academic really for as long as the government lets high riding four wheel drives share the road with ridged chassis and anvil style bullbars no number of stars will save u in your average sedan.
5 star is just too easy for the car maker now! The goverment should rise the standard.
I hear they’re not the only Korean bombs we should be worried about.