Comments on: New small cars widen safety choice for buyers

By: Stevothedevo

Stevothedevo — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 07:50:23 +0000

I hear they’re not the only Korean bombs we should be worried about.

By: Disturb

Disturb — Sat, 30 May 2009 11:56:25 +0000

5 star is just too easy for the car maker now! The goverment should rise the standard.

By: Realcars

Realcars — Fri, 29 May 2009 13:16:02 +0000

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.

By: Realcars

Realcars — Fri, 29 May 2009 13:07:39 +0000

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.

By: DesignEngr

DesignEngr — Fri, 29 May 2009 05:48:52 +0000

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……

By: Shane

Shane — Fri, 29 May 2009 04:37:15 +0000

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.

By: Tony

Tony — Fri, 29 May 2009 03:20:15 +0000

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.

By: Pious

Pious — Fri, 29 May 2009 02:53:05 +0000

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!

By: Tony

Tony — Fri, 29 May 2009 02:28:44 +0000

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?

By: Shane

Shane — Fri, 29 May 2009 01:30:21 +0000

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