ROAD SAFETY
Putting your safety to the test
Mark Smyth reports on what goes into crash testing for vehicles sold in SA
In 2018 Nissan made headlines for the wrong reasons. After one of its Datsun models spectacularly failed a crash test in 2014, the Nissan NP300 Hardbody did the same in 2018, receiving a zero star rating for vehicle safety from international organisation Global NCAP. The NP300 was one of four vehicles sold in SA that was crash tested in 2018, along with the Hyundai i20, Kia Picanto and Toyota Yaris. All three passenger cars received three out of a possible five stars for adult occupant protection, but there is a caveat to that result. The star rating applied by Global NCAP to cars from SA that it tests is not the same as the rating for other international markets. Had any of these cars been tested to the European crash test standard, all would have failed, according to Alejandro Furas, technical director of Global NCAP. Manufacturers supply different cars to SA. And they can, partly because the consumer buys them anyway but also because government legislation on vehicle safety is de...
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