Latin NCAP 2019 crash tests: Who’s hot, Who’s not
When selecting a car for your employees, much like selecting one for your family, fleet managers should put safety into the equation. In Latin America, the task is easier with the help of Latin NCAP, the Latin America and Caribbean regional car safety assessment program.
Latin NCAP, which conducts front and side impact crash tests, gives vehicles a one to five star-rating (5 being best) for both adult passenger and child passenger protection (10 stars being the best possible rating). While some models passed with flying colors last year, others did not do so well. Check out the results below.
Top Rated (10 Stars)
Among the brands with the most top-rated cars tested in 2019 is Toyota. The models receiving 5 stars for both adult passenger and child passenger protection are New Corolla (pictured above), Hilux Double Cab pickup, SW4 SUV, and RAV 4 compact SUV. All of them have 7 airbags.
Volkswagen also boasts some the most models with perfect ratings last year. They are Tiguan SUV, T-cross compact SUV, Jetta sedan, and Vento sedan, all of which have 6 airbags.
Meanwhile, the Chevrolet New Onix Hatchback and New Onix Plus sedan (both with 6 airbags) got top ratings, along with the Seat Terraco SUV with 7 airbags.
New Onix Plus sedan (source: Latin NCAP)
Marginal (less than 6 Stars)
Those not faring very well during testing were the Chery Tiggo 3 subcompact SUV*. It received 0 stars for adult protection and 1 star for child protection. The Mitsubishi L200 pickup with no airbags also received 0 stars for adult protection but 2 stars for child protection.
Mitsubishi L200 crash test (source: Latin NCAP)
Acceptable (6-9 stars)
Meanwhile, there are quite a few models that did not get top ratings but are considered acceptable by most fleet managers.
“Although we do have cars with higher ratings, the minimum test results we accept is 3 stars for both adult and child passenger protection,” Diversey Brazil fleet manager Marton Kiss told Fleet LatAm in a recent interview.
The following models received 6-9 stars when adding up both adult and child passenger protection. Starting with those with the best ratings, they are:
Chevrolet Cruz sedan (6 airbags), Toyota Etios hatchback*, Toyota Yaris sedan*, Nissan Frontier/NP300 Navara double cab pickups*, Ford Figo hatchback (4 airbags), Ford Ranger pickup (3 airbags), Chevrolet New Aveo sedan*, Fiat Argo hatchback* and Cronos sedan*, Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross hatchback (3 airbags), Hyundai HB20 hatchback*, Renault New Duster compact SUV*, Renault Kangoo LCV*, Peugeot 301 hatchback (4 airbags), and Volkswagen Suran and Fox hatchbacks*.
Renault New Duster crash test (source: Latin NCAP)
Finally, the Renault Sandero and Stepway hatchback as well as the Renault Logan sedan, all with 4 airbags, had double ratings. While some received 3 stars for adult protection and 4 stars for child protection, others received 1 star for adult protection and 4 stars for child protection (depending on the VIN number)
* 2 airbags
