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| The Datsun Go fared as bad in crash tests as is competitors. Photo: GlobalNCAP |
THE Datsun Go is the latest car to score zero in the Global New Car
Assessment Programme (NCAP) in India. This places the Go, which sells locally
for R89 500, in the same league as India’s most popular car, the Suzuki Maruti
Alto 800, (which enjoys 50% market share in India) as well as the the Hyundai
i10, the Ford Figo, the Volkswagen Polo, and the Tata Nano.
All these cars also received zero-star adult protection ratings in
their NCAP crash tests. VW has since added two airbags to the Polo in India and
it now has a four-star rating — and higher price.
At Wheels,
we don’t hold with airbags and have little patience with the false sense of
security these crash tests give car buyers. The bottom line is that all modern
cars are made from what amounts to tin foil held on a light metal frame by the
least possible number of spot welds.
In a low speed crash, the crumple zones built into the frame will
deflect most of the impact around the driver, but at the combined high speeds at
which head-on crashes typically happens on South Africa’s two lane highways,
only a miracle will ensure still-breathing drivers and passengers after the dust
had settled.
I have long argued that South Africa will have more responsible
drivers if we remove all airbags and in their place weld a short stabbing spear
so that the sharpened tip just grazes the driver’s chest.
Nissan Motor India said in a statement the Go “provides the best
adapted solutions to the local conditions”, including best-in-class braking. In
our book good brakes make the Go safer than the five most popular cars as listed
by students in the University of KZN. (See Wheels
on November 6.)
These include the Tazz and City Golf and shows what new buyers view
as more important when having to choose between affordable, or safe.
