Global NCAP’s #SaferCarsForAfrica campaign is back, with three new South African-spec vehicles having recently undergone evaluation, but the results are nothing to celebrate.
The global crash testing authority on Wednesday released the results of its three latest crash tests, which resulted in a one-star adult occupant rating for the Suzuki Ertiga, and two-star ratings for the Kia Pegas and Renault Triber.
“We are disappointed to see global brands like Renault, Kia, and Suzuki offer such a low safety performance in markets like South Africa whilst achieving much higher levels of protection in many other global markets,” said Alejandro Furas, Global NCAP Secretary General.
“Don’t African consumers deserve the same level of safety?”
Global NCAP said highlighting this disparity and democratising vehicle safety in Africa was a priority for the charitable organisation, which receives financial support from the FIA Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
The #SaferCarsForAfrica campaign is also run in conjunction with the Automobile Association, whose Chairman Sikkie Kajee said he was confident that manufacturers would use these poor results to improve their safety standards going forward.
“Issues with double-standards persist in relation to vehicles made for Africa but, again, we are assured these matters are being addressed and are confident that in the future we will see less discrepancies than what we currently do,” Kajee said.
Global NCAP has assessed 22 South African-spec cars since #SaferCarsForAfrica was launched in 2017.
The best performer so far was the Mahindra XUV300, which received a five-star rating. The Mazda2, Honda Amaze and Toyota’s Avanza and Etios models all received four stars.
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The worst performer thus far were the Nissan Hardbody, Chery QQ and GWM Steed 5, all of which failed to earn a single star.
Why were the latest results so poor?
Following the latest crash tests, Global NCAP said the structure of the Suzuki Ertiga, which is also sold as the Toyota Rumion in South Africa, was rated as “borderline unstable.”
Although head and neck protection for adult occupants was good, the footwell area showed injury to the driver’s lower legs.
The Renault Triber, which is also made in India, showed good head and neck protection for the front occupants, but protection for the driver’s chest was found to be weak in both the frontal and side impacts.
It was a similar scenario for the Chinese-built Kia Pegas, whose structure was rated as unstable after tests showed poor chest protection for both front occupants.
All three vehicles have dual front airbags and ABS brakes as standard, but none are offered with side airbags and only the Suzuki comes with a stability control system.
Child occupant protection was a mixed bag. While the Kia managed to score four stars, the Renault and Suzuki received two-star ratings, partly because they don’t offer deactivation for their front passenger airbags.