Korean Car Awarded 5-Star Safety Rating

[Hamico]

Hyundai's new I30 awarded 5-star NCAP safety rating............

http://www.carpoint.com.au/car-review/2942339.aspx

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hyundai is vindicated after local crash safety testing body awards the i30 five stars

A car's market acceptance increasingly hinges on how well it rates in independent crash safety testing.

So, it's no great leap to surmise that Hyundai was very unhappy with the original EuroNCAP four-star rating for the company's i30 small car (more here).

Subsequently, the i30 in Australian specification has been tested locally and has notched up a five-star score. The Aussie site (view it here), notes that EuroNCAP tested a left-hand drive version of the i30 -- one without the safety upgrade for the Australian and NZ markets, effective from June of this year.

That safety upgrade includes an "upgraded knee impact zone" and side curtain airbag availability. These changes appear to have been enough for the i30 to fall across the line into five-star territory.

The i30 scored a total of 32.54 points out of possible maximum tally of 37. Of the other two cars to score five-star ratings in the latest round of ANCAP testing, the larger Renault Laguna recorded a score of 35.91 and the Mitsubishi Lancer split the difference with 33.56 points. None of the three scored more than two points for pedestrian safety.

Two other cars tested were the Holden AH Astra CD hatch without side curtain airbags and the Kia Rondo. Both those cars recorded four-star ratings and a one-star rating for pedestrian safety. The Astra posted an overall score of 31.54 and the Rondo achieved 27.21 points.

.

[vecommo]

I can't help but think that these tests are seriously flawed in one way or another.
I mean, who could honestly say they would feel safer in one of these little Hyundais than say a VE, Falcon or Aurion which all rate 4 stars.

I seem to recall an article where they rated a Mazda 3 as being safer than an Audi Q7. If this isn't the biggest load of steaming BS I have ever heard then I don't know what is...

[vicarious]

I can't help but think that these tests are seriously flawed in one way or another.
I mean, who could honestly say they would feel safer in one of these little Hyundais than say a VE, Falcon or Aurion which all rate 4 stars.

I seem to recall an article where they rated a Mazda 3 as being safer than an Audi Q7. If this isn't the biggest load of steaming BS I have ever heard then I don't know what is...


i agree with this comment, the testing doesnt recreate real life crashes IMHO

[Covert]

I can't help but think that these tests are seriously flawed in one way or another.
I mean, who could honestly say they would feel safer in one of these little Hyundais than say a VE, Falcon or Aurion which all rate 4 stars.

I seem to recall an article where they rated a Mazda 3 as being safer than an Audi Q7. If this isn't the biggest load of steaming BS I have ever heard then I don't know what is...

The tests are only flawed if you don't get the result you want. I could imagine your glowing review of the result if the Barina or Epica was awarded 5 stars under the same test.

[vecommo]

The tests are only flawed if you don't get the result you want. I could imagine your glowing review of the result if the Barina or Epica was awarded 5 stars under the same test.

That's a little unwarranted to be honest.

FWIW, if Holden released a Barina which scored a 5 star rating, I would be no less sceptical than I am now.
If a 5 star Barina had a head on smash with a 4 star VE, which do you think would come away better off? I know which car I'd rather be in, and it's not the Barina.

Also IIRC, the previous model XC Barina was rated 4 stars, equal with the VE. However to suggest that an XC Barina is just as safe as a VE in a real world crash would be absolutely laughable. Get the drift?

So the Hyundai i30 has a five star rating. Does that now mean it offers identical levels of occupant protection to say, a $200,000 Merc or BMW? Remember, the average Joe doesn't read between the lines, they just look at the number of stars and draw a conclusion from there. This is why I think these tests are flawed and misleading.

[planetdavo]

Car manufacturers have been building cars to get 5 star results for years.
Holden's work with Monash on the subject of safety is well known, and as a result of their studies based on real world crashes, VE is a 4 star car....

[Shane QLD]

Hyundai's new I30 awarded 5-star NCAP safety rating............

http://www.carpoint.com.au/car-review/2942339.aspx

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hyundai is vindicated after local crash safety testing body awards the i30 five stars

A car's market acceptance increasingly hinges on how well it rates in independent crash safety testing.

So, it's no great leap to surmise that Hyundai was very unhappy with the original EuroNCAP four-star rating for the company's i30 small car (more here).

Subsequently, the i30 in Australian specification has been tested locally and has notched up a five-star score. The Aussie site (view it here), notes that EuroNCAP tested a left-hand drive version of the i30 -- one without the safety upgrade for the Australian and NZ markets, effective from June of this year.

That safety upgrade includes an "upgraded knee impact zone" and side curtain airbag availability. These changes appear to have been enough for the i30 to fall across the line into five-star territory.

The i30 scored a total of 32.54 points out of possible maximum tally of 37. Of the other two cars to score five-star ratings in the latest round of ANCAP testing, the larger Renault Laguna recorded a score of 35.91 and the Mitsubishi Lancer split the difference with 33.56 points. None of the three scored more than two points for pedestrian safety.

Two other cars tested were the Holden AH Astra CD hatch without side curtain airbags and the Kia Rondo. Both those cars recorded four-star ratings and a one-star rating for pedestrian safety. The Astra posted an overall score of 31.54 and the Rondo achieved 27.21 points.

.

That only applies to the SR i30, the SX only gets a 4 star rating !:)

[HSV271]

I would never want to be in a crash, ever.... and do not wish this on any man/woman/child or forum memeber here. BUT... I know I would rater be in an Audi Q7/VE/X5 than and Hyundai/Barina or Mazda if I did have a smash.

[Marco]

As usual, people are underrating the i30. It is a good car - believe it.

[GODSMACK]

As usual, people are underrating the i30. It is a good car - believe it. Trading in the VE for one Marco??

[Funky_Munky]

A Korean car with a 5 star rating?!?!?!??!?! Blasphemy!!! Heresy!!!

Surely the tests must be flawed!!!

:rolleyes:

I knew there was a certain stigma attached to all Korean cars, but didnt realise it was this bad.

[nudenut]

Don't those tests crash the cars into a solid wall, or solid objects for side impacts etc? If it isn't already, applying a "weight factor" should be factored in to reflect the safety inherent in bigger, heavier cars.

eg In a head on smash between a VE Omega (1690 kg) and an i30 SR (1363 kg), both doing 60km/h, based just on momentum and assuming the wrecks lock together, the resultant speed of both cars would be about 6 km/h in the direction the VE was travelling in. So,the VE would go from 60km/h to 6km/h in the same direction - a 54km/h change in a short amount of time. The i30 would go from 60km/h forward to 6 km/h backwards - a 66 km/h change. This means that the crash acceleration "felt" in the i30 would be more than 20% worse than that in the VE, everything else being equal.

[VX2VESS]

i30 is a good little car good value.

Koreans will overtake everyone in quality cars and value. come a long way already in a short time.

someone at work just got an i30 diesel, getting a 4.5 average per 100 in the city :1peek:

[Marco]

Trading in the VE for one Marco??

It's good, but it's not THAT good!

[Dacious]

Even the little Smart Car - you know the one that looks like it has been sandwiched in between two bookends - gets 4 stars.

You have to realise a couple of things:

First, if a Kenworth drives over you in a 5-star Bentley or Merc limo or even Hummer H3, you are dogmeat.

Secondly, these tests are run by hitting the car with a swinging weight at a fixed speed, and then measuring what happens to the car and the crash dummies. The side test is they simulate a spinout crash with a swinging pole that hits like a car sliding sideways into a tree.

So they measure things like is the cabin penetrated, how much it folds, how much force is transferred into spine/brain/torso of the dummy etc. it's a standard test, simulating an offset head-on smash at about 40km/h which is the mean-average result of real world fatal crashes. Drivers usually come off worse because that bit of the car is crushed into the cabin.

To get a five star rating, a car has to 'only' protect it's occupants against serious injuries requiring trauma treatment like broken legs/ribs/skull fractures/punctures of the body. That's why you're seeing knee airbags appear.

So if you drive a 5-star Hyundai into a 4-star Commodore, head-on at equal speeds the Hyundai occupants might be more affected by forces as the Commodore basically knocks it out of it's path. if the Hyundai is travelling faster than the Commodore the results might vary.

But you'll still be marginally better off in the Hyundai than a 2-star Barina provided speeds are less than 50km/h.

Crashes are interesting things. A guy racing at Phillip Island in a Golf ran straight on at Honda and hit a barrier after apparently losing brakes. It showered dirt for upwards of 60 metres from impact and moved a tyre wall embedded in an earth bank by about a metre.

The car was basically still straight, crumpled at the front broken windshield everything else undamaged. The driver was still strapped in and appeared asleep and uninjured.

But he was dead. While the car could withstand the implact, his internal organs and soft tissues like brain, liver, lungs, kidneys etc didn't. He died instantly.

Top Gear or Fifth Gear crashed a Smart ForTwo into a concrete motorway barrier at 60mph and the car structure survived. The test equipment showed anyone inside would be dead from decelerration forces.

ANCAP and NCAP is non-profit and not corrupt - they buy cars anoymously off lots for tests. It's known some makers who get five stars build their cars to pass NCAP LHD tests as they sell more in LHD countries; so they don't do as well in ANCAP, which tests on the RHD side.

If tested here or there, it is generally recognised as being the same.

[STATIE]

Worst Crash Test of All Time - FileCabi.net (http://www.filecabi.net/video/Chinese_Truck_Crash_Testing.html)

Chinese trucks do well at crash testing too - I want one!!!!