The safest cars around

Thursday, 25 February 2010

Towards the end of last month, Euro NCAP released its five safest cars of 2009, in which the Volkswagen Golf VI was named top. So what makes a safe car different from other vehicles?

Drivers can enjoy a variety of safety features that come as standard in the Golf VI, including a curtain airbag system, an electronic engine immobiliser, an Electronic Stabilisation Programme as well as an anti-lock braking system.

Anti-slip regulation, electronic differential lock and engine drag torque control are just a few of the many features in the vehicle that may help drivers with car insurance avoid a claim.

In second place in the Euro NCAP ratings was the Honda Insight. This model comes with vehicle stability assist, which is designed to help the driver keep control of the car when tackling corners, accelerating and carrying out sudden manoeuvres.

Dual front, side and full-length side curtain airbags come as standard in the Honda Insight too, while the front seat active headrests in the model are designed to reduce the likelihood of neck injury in rear impacts.

In third place was the Toyota Prius, which features seven airbags as standard. All seats in the vehicle come with three point seatbelts with Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR), which locks up the seatbelt when the load exceeds a pre-set value.

Designers of the Prius also sought to make the car less dangerous to pedestrians. For instance, impact absorbing materials can be found inside the front bumper and beneath the radiator to help prevent a person's legs sliding under the vehicle.

Fourth place in the Euro NCAP ratings was the Hyundai i20. In terms of safety features, the car comes with dual front, side and curtain airbags. It also features an anti-lock braking system to prevent wheel lock-up during panic braking on slippery surfaces.

On receiving the Euro NCAP ratings last year, Allan Rushforth, vice-president of Hyundai Motor Europe, said the company looks to provide life-saving equipment as standard for its customers, and it continues "to research and develop new ways to protect drivers and occupants of Hyundai cars". This is surely music to the ears of motor insurance customers looking for a safer vehicle.

Three cars were jointly ranked in fifth place in the EuroNCAP table as some of the country's leading safest cars, these being the Toyota Avensis, the Volvo XC60 and the Vauxhall Astra.

But what about the car insurance premiums for these highly-rated models? Here is a rundown from swiftcover.com on the yearly rates:

As for what the Euro NCAP trials actually entailed in their bid to find the safest cars around, the body crash tested 33 models. For each of these, it used up to a total of three cars, three front seats, four child seats as well as a variety of spare parts.

The model is typically put through four crash tests, along with a component test. They are then assessed by an inspector who considers tests results as well as the safety equipment and features of the car.

For 2009, Euro NCAP considered results from vehicles crash-tested in the 2007/2008 period and undertook the necessary tests and assessment to upgrade them to a result applicable under the new rating scheme.

"This is the first time we can calculate results that demonstrate an overall safety performance. Even though these cars excel in different areas of safety, their presence in the top-five list indicates that they are among the top safety achievers of the year," commented Dr Michiel van Ratingen, secretary general of Euro NCAP.

In 2010, the threshold to achieve Euro NCAP's maximum five stars will rise from 75 per cent to 80 per cent in the Adult Occupant Protection category and from 70 per cent to 75 per cent in Child Occupant Protection segment.

The threshold for Pedestrian Protection, meanwhile, is to go up to 40 per cent in 2010. The first results for vehicles tested under this stricter assessment will be released on March 3rd.

Posted by Rick Malone

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