Nine small vehicles get top crash rating in new study

Safety-conscious used car buyers can now choose from a wider range, with a record nine compact vehicles achieving the highest possible score in the 2008 Used Car Safety Ratings (UCSR).

Funded by NRMA and the RTA, the UCSR analysed data from more than 3.2 million real-life crashes in Australia and New Zealand between 1986 and 2006.

Many of the best performing vehicles were in the small and medium classes, according to NRMA motoring research manager, Jack Haley.

“For the first time, a number of small cars have achieved significantly above average safety ratings, including the Peugeot 306 (1994-2001), the VW Golf (1999-2004) and the Mazda3 (2003-2006),” he said.

The findings show that families struggling with high petrol prices and other economic pressures can now buy a small car without compromising safety. A used Peugeot, for instance, starts at $5000.

Director at the RTA’s NSW Centre for Road Safety, Dr Soames Job, said the state’s road toll could also be slashed if more people drove safer used cars.

“If everyone drove vehicles in the category providing the highest level of injury protection in a crash, the road toll would be cut,” said Dr Job.

“The UCSR results are based on real-world crash performance. The results show significant gaps in crash performance. For example, the worst-rating vehicle (Daihatsu Hi-Jet 1982-90) presented more than eight times the risk of death or serious injury to people in a crash than best-rated vehicles such as the VW Golf/Jetta (2004-2006).”

Older light cars, like the Suzuki Swift and Holden Barina, are still poor performers in the safety stakes.

“Light cars have continued to be problematic, with none achieving the highest safety rating,” said Dr Job. “However, it is promising to see that some have achieved above average safety results for the first time.”

According to Haley, commercial vehicles are also a serious cause for concern.

“As we’ve seen with previous results, very few commercial vehicles, either large 4WDs or light vehicles, scored well, which remains a big concern given these vehicles’ continued popularity,” he said.

“In fact, only one of the commercial vans, the Ford Transit (2001-2006), rated above average.” 

Click here (PDF 107KB) to see the full results of the 2008 UCSR report.

Open Road e-zine August 2008

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