As cars continue to evolve, they become faster and more technologically advanced and, by extension, they must also become safer.
With that said, vehicle manufacturers are always trying to find ways to make their products safer and thanks to safety programmes such as Global NCAP and the Automobile Association of South Africa’s #SafeCarsforAfrica campaign that aims to provide crash test results of cars dominating our roads today.
#SafeCarsforAfrica has therefore released crash test results of vehicles tested between 2017 and 2021 and while some cars scored shockingly low ratings, others displayed impressive scores.
The Chery QQ3 with no airbags came last out of all eighteen cars crash-tested after scoring zero stars in both adult occupant protection and child occupant protection. In addition, the GWM STEED 5 also showed low safety standards after gaining only one star for child occupant protection and zero for adult occupant protection. Like the Chery QQ3, it comes with no airbags.
Things start improving marginally with the Nissan NP300 Hardbody with dual airbags. The bakkie’s performance during the test was underwhelming after only scoring two stars for child occupant protection and none for adult occupants.
The Datsun GO+ is bolstered with one driver airbag but even with that, it was awarded one star for adult occupant protection and two for child occupant protection.
The Haval H1 subcompact SUV with its dual airbags achieved two stars for both child occupant and adult occupant protection. It is a similar case scenario with the Renault Kwid with its two airbags.
Moving up the list, the Suzuki Ignis comes rigged with dual airbags for the driver and front passenger, however, it was awarded three and one stars for adult occupant protection and child occupant protection respectively.
The Hyundai i20 supermini hatchback comes fitted with dual airbags and it claimed four stars for adult occupant and two for child occupant protection. The same scenario applies to the Kia Picanto tyke with its single airbag.
Three stars were scored in both departments by the trio; Volkswagen Polo, Toyota Yaris and Nissan Almera; the latter being one of the latest cars added to the list. All three cars are equipped with two airbags.
The Renault Sandero starts to usher an impressive scoring, thanks to its three stars in adult occupant protection and four stars in child occupant protection. However, it is a different story for the Honda Amaze with its four stars adult occupant protection and one star for child occupant protection.
Toyota's much-loved Avanza has only two airbags and yet its score was impressive with four stars for adult protection and two for child occupant protection. Its Etios counterpart on the other side was awarded four stars for adult occupant and three for child occupant protection. It also features two airbags.
The Mazda 2 was recently crash-tested alongside the aforementioned Nissan Almera. It displayed an impressive safety ethos after scoring four stars in adult occupant protection and three for child occupant protection.
Meanwhile, the Mahindra’s XUV300 remains at the top of the list with its five-star adult occupant protection and four-star child protection.
According to Alejandro Furas, Secretary-General of the Global NCAP calls on both car makers to review these failures as a matter of urgency. We would also call on them to improve the basic safety offered in these models as standard, adding Electronic Stability Control, pedestrian protection and side body and head airbags as soon as possible.
The #SaferCarsForAfrica Campaign was launched by Global NCAP in 2017 with the objective of promoting safer vehicles across the continent of Africa. Tests were conducted simulating real-world conditions.
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