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The models tested include South Africa’s best-selling car, the VW Polo Vivo. The Datsun Go+, Toyota Etios, Renault Sandero, and Chery QQ3 also underwent the safety assessment. Combined sales of these five cars account for around 65% of all the new cars sold in South Africa last year. Global NCAP chose the entry-level version of each model, and the results highlight differences in the structural integrity of the vehicles tested.
Global NCAP has awarded a separate child-safety rating to each car to highlight the different levels of protection vehicles provide to passengers on the rear seats. In the assessments, some of the child seats recommended by manufacturers were found to be incompatible with their vehicle’s belt system. In the Polo Vivo, Chery QQ3 and Datsun GO+ there was no three-point seatbelt on the rear centre seats and no way to safely install a child seat or transport a small child safely in that seating position. Only the Toyota Etios and Renault Sandero offer Standard ISOFIX anchorages for the rear outboard positions and three-point seatbelt for all passengers facilitating minimum conditions to install a child seat.
TOYOTA ETIOS
The Etios achieved a four-star rating for adult occupant protection in the frontal crash test at 64 km/h. The vehicle structure was rated as stable, offering good general adult occupant protection. The car included seatbelts with pretensioners for both front passengers. Using the child seats recommended by Toyota, the Etios achieved a three-star rating for child occupant protection.
RENAULT SANDERO
The Sandero achieved a three-star rating for adult occupant protection in the frontal crash test at 64 km/h. The vehicle structure was rated as stable, offering adequate general adult occupant protection. The car did not include seatbelt pretensioners. Using the child seats recommended by Renault, the Sandero
achieved a four-star rating for child occupant protection.
VOLKSWAGEN POLO VIVO
The Polo Vivo achieved a three-star rating for adult occupant protection in the frontal crash test at 64 km/h. The vehicle structure was rated as stable, offering acceptable adult occupant protection. The car did not include seatbelt pretensioners. Using the child seats recommended by VW, the Polo Vivo achieved a three-star rating for child protection.
DATSUN GO+
The GO+ achieved a one-star rating for its poor adult occupant protection, mainly in the driver’s chest, in the frontal crash test at 64 km/h. The vehicle structure was rated as unstable, steering wheel movement, even though a steering wheel airbag was fitted, recorded high compression to the chest of the driver dummy. There was no airbag for the passenger. The Datsun GO+ achieved a two-star rating for child occupant protection using the child seats.
CHERY QQ3
The QQ3 achieved a zero star rating for its poor adult occupant protection, mainly in driver’s head and chest. The vehicle structure was rated as unstable as it collapsed in some relevant areas during the impact. Injury impacts recorded in the dummy head and chest, in particular, led to this result. There were no airbags for the adult passengers. The manufacturer did not recommend specific child seats, which explains most of the points lost for child occupant protection. The QQ3 was given a zero star rating for child occupant protection, considering the poor vehicle readiness to accommodate the child seats safely.