The Automobile Association of South Africa (AA) has released its 2022 Entry Level Vehicle Safety (ELVS) report, ranking 38 different cars based on three different categories and giving them a combined score in terms of overall safety.
As such, it serves as a solid barometer for local buyers who place safety above all else when it comes to purchasing a budget friendly vehicle.
Explaining its methodology for the latest iteration of the ELVS report, the AA says that it has raised the value threshold for the cars it evaluated to R270 000. This, much like most things this year, is the result of rising costs across the board.
The AA adds that it group vehicles into the categories of acceptable safety, moderate safety and poor safety, with four models categorised in the latter from the report with scores of 20 or less.
The scoring system employed here, “was developed with weights allocated to the existence of certain safety features. Active safety features such as ABS and ESC were given the most significant weights (30 points each), in recognition of their core function of avoiding collisions,” notes the AA.
“In relation to passive safety features, each available airbag scored 10 points. The only exception is the curtain airbag, which scores 20 points (an additional 10 points), as studies show curtain airbags can reduce life threatening head injuries by up to 50%,” it adds.
Vehicles deemed to have all the desired safety features can score a maximum of 135 points. The breakdown and weighting of the safety features are as follows:
As for the most important findings of the report, namely which cars the best in terms of safety features the Fiat 500 0.9L FWD SMT claimed the top spot, with a score of 90 out of a possible maximum of 135.
The Italian budget friendly car’s Ncap crash test score of 25 is what helped it secure the spot. The Fiat 500 is also one of the most expensive options on the list at R223 900 (RRP).
The next four vehicles were all from Suzuki, with the Celerio followed by the Swift, Dzire and Balero. In fact, Suzuki had seven cars in the top 10, which is no doubt a feather in the cap of the Japanese carmaker, but interestingly only two of its vehicles registered points for their Ncap scores – the Ignis 1.2 Manual and S-Presso 1.0 Manual.
If you considering a Suzuki, that may be a factor worth considering too.
The full top 10 and their scores are as follows:
- Fiat 500 0.9L FWD SMT – 90.
- Suzuki Celerio 1.0 GA MT – 80.
- Suzuki Swift 1.2 Manual – 80.
- Suzuki Dzire 1.2 Manual – 80.
- Suzuki Baleno 1.4 Manual – 80.
- Toyota Starlet 1.4 Xi MT – 80.
- Mahindra XUV 300 W4 – 75.
- Honda Amaze 1.2 Trend Manual – 70.
- Suzuki Ignis 1.2 Manual – 65.
- Suzuki S-Presso 1.0 Manual – 65.
As for the vehicles that scored the lowest, as mentioned earlier, four models achieved a poor rating – the JMC Carrying S/C SWB 1.6 Ton Dropside STD, JMC Carrying S/C SWB Chassis Cab, Mahindra Bolero BMT and Suzuki Super Carry 1.2 Pick-Up.
All four of these vehicles scored zeros across the board, meaning they do not offer much at all in terms of safety features in the AA’s view.
“Only Honda (1 vehicle), and Fiat (1 vehicle) had all their entry-level vehicles score within the acceptable safety range. Suzuki had 6 vehicles score in the acceptable safety range, but 3 vehicles scored in the moderate safety range and 1 vehicle in the poor safety range,” added the AA in its report.
For those carmakers wanting to improve their scores, the AA is advising that more crash testing is done for the local market. This as only five cars in the report were crash tested locally.
“The Fiat 500 received the highest safety rating of 90 points and was the only entry-level vehicle to include side airbags. The Fiat 500 would probably have obtained a higher score had it been crash tested, and the AASA therefore recommends that all manufacturers crash test their vehicles,” the AA highlighted.
“These tests will not only improve the safety results of the vehicles but will also provide authoritative demonstrations of the vehicles’ safety levels,” it concluded.
While there are indeed more factors that play a role in car buying in South Africa, this latest report from the AA certainly offers some food for thought.
To read the report yourself, you can download it as a PDF here.
