Fed: Newer not always better when it comes to safe cars

AAP General News (Australia)
08-11-2004
Fed: Newer not always better when it comes to safe cars

By Shaun Prescott

SYDNEY, Aug 11 AAP - Newer does not necessarily mean safer when it comes to cars, as
the latest safety ratings have found.

The Used Car Safety Ratings (UCSR) judged 73 older models of vehicles to rate above
the overall fleet average when it came to protecting drivers in crashes.

But more than 50 older model vehicles scored below average in the same test.

The analysis combined the results of more than 1.5 million on-road crashes which resulted
in over 400,000 drivers being injured.

It rated 255 second-hand vehicles built between 1982 and 2002 according to how well
they protected their occupants and how much harm they were likely to inflict on others.

Vehicles which provided the least protection were the 1991-96 Nissan NX sports car
and the 1985-98 Daihatsu Rocky four-wheel drive, both of which rated badly for occupant
protection and injury to others.

Small cars generally were judged to provide average protection, with four cars including
the 1996-98 Holden Astra and the 1998-01 Toyota Corolla ranking better than average.

Medium sized cars such as the 1995-2001 Ford Mondeo and the 1988-92 Holden Apollo/Toyota
Camry rated better than average, while large, luxury, and prestige cars widely displayed
high levels of protection, with the exception of the 1982-88 Commodore, which rated worse
than average.

Among the top rating vehicles in the luxury and prestige category were the 1986-98
Saab 9000, the 1984-92 Volvo 700/900 series, and the 1989-93 Toyota Cressida.

Only one commercial van, the Ford Falcon panel van, rated above average, while only
four of 29 sports cars rated better than average.

The analysis also found that four-wheel drives usually provided average protection
to their occupants, but were dangerous to occupants of other vehicles.

The analysis was funded by the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) and NRMA Motoring
and Services.

RTA Road Safety Strategy general manager Soames Job (Soames Job), warned there was
a 30 per cent higher chance of serious injury or death involved in driving the worst performing
vehicles.

"It is just as important to look at occupant protection when choosing a second-hand
car as it is when buying a new one," Dr Job said.

"If we all drove the top performing vehicles in their class we would see a dramatic
reduction in the road toll."

AAP students/smb/kbw/cjh/jlw

KEYWORD: CRASH (WITH FACTBOX)

2004 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.