How safe is your ‘used’ car?
July 25, 2007 by Matt Brogan
A report published in the Herald-Sun today shows how when looking for a used car, we should think more about our safety than of convenience and comfort options.
This table shows the more popular used vehicles on our market today. Here you can find how safe older vehicles can be, and in easy to understand terms (green is good, red is bad), the table indicates what cars used buyers should avoid.
Of no surprise the winner is VW’s Passat, which second-hand is quite affordable and provides quality, reliable family motoring. The Bora also scored very well. Our own Falcon and Commodore are nothing to sneeze at, also scoring very high on the chart. Very reassuring news for those of us with limited budgets.
With every test like this, there must be a loser, and this time round it’s Daihatsu’s Hi-Jet (you don’t say) showing a ‘significantly worse than average’ chance of sustaining serious injury in an accident.
So if you’re in the market for a used car, or are just curious to see how your vehicle would perform in a crash, check it out. Much better than finding out the hard way.
Click here to view the full table.
Source: News.com.au
Matt.
Print it: 
This may be useful as a guide, but accuracy may be subject to debate.
For example, my personal vehicle is a 1998 Jackaroo. According to the table, it is less safe than the previous model, 1992-1998. But the earlier one did not have airbags, mine does. So, the two vehicles should at least be rated equal, and the newer one would be expected to be better for occupant safety due to the air bags.
The two vehicles are virtually identical in size and weight, but one is more harmful to other traffic. This is also illogical.
So, while the report is a good guide, it has some silly anomolies.
I’m much happier in my vehicle than I would be in a Suzuki Mighty Boy, and I don’t care that if I hit one of said vehicles it wouldn’t bode well for the occupants. In life you get what you ask for – driving a Mighty Boy or a Toyota van is asking for trouble.
And if you are a pedestrian who insists cars should be “pedestrian friendly”, I can assure you that it’s better to be road aware and don’t get yourself hit by ANY vehicle. I’ll never take pedestrian safety into account when choosing a vehicle.
INTERESTING ANOMALIES BUT NOT UNEXPECTED FOR PEDESTRIAN PROTECTION A VAN WOULD BE LIKE BEING HIT POINT BLANK BY A BRICK & THE LOWER VEHICLE MASS THE LESS DAMAGE DONE.
ROAD AWARE RUBS BOTH WAYS FOR DRIVERS & PEDESTRIANS. PROACTIVE PRACTICES NEED TO BE LEARNT BY DRIVERS.
I WITNESSED AS A KID & AS A TEENAGER, TWO BAD PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENTS.
THE TRAUMA FOR THE DRIVER IS UNREAL.
IT HAS LASTING IMPRESSIONS ON WITNESSES AS EXPECTED.
ISSUES ARE AM I NEAR A SCHOOL,A PRESCHOOL CHILD CARE CENTRE MANY KIDS ARE PICKED UP & DROPPED OFF EARLY OR LATE,IS IT SCHOOL HOLIDAYS?VENUES WHERE FAMILIES & PEOPLE CONGREGATE.DRIVERS NEED TO SCAN SIDE WAYS.IS ANY ONE ON THAT FOOTPATH WITH THEIR BACK TO ME?
NOT JUST THAT TUNNEL VISION OF WHAT IS DEAD AHEAD.
A PRACTICALITY DIFFICULT TO OVERCOME IS THAT SECONDARY IMPACT OF THE SKULL OF THE UNFORTUNATE PEDESTRIAN HITTING THE WINDSCREEN OR THE ROAD.
THERE IS ONLY SO MUCH MANUFACTURERS CAN DO.
OR IS THERE?
David, why are you shouting?
Looks like others think the review results are “interesting”
http://editorial.carsales.com......51827.aspx
Whoops,sorry about the caps lock,didn’t think.
Lack of sleep & a hard day.
So don’t drive a PC or a car in this condition.
Cheers