The Safest Cars In SA Under R150 000

The Safest Cars In SA Under R150 000

The 23 vehicles assessed were categorised into three groups (Acceptable, Moderate, and Poor Safety) based on their safety ratings. A baseline score to assess each vehicle was also developed according to international safety ratings and prices.

The highest rating a car could achieve, according to the AA’s Safety / Affordability Index, was 9.00 points when considering all elements.

The AA said: “Of the 23 cars assessed, four came out with acceptable safety ratings, while eight achieved moderate safety ratings. In this price range, however, 11 were rated as having poor safety features”.

How Were They Scored?

Each car was rated out of a possible 135 points. This included:

• Anti-lock brakes (ABS) – 30 points
• Electronic Stability Control (ESC) – 30 points
• Driver’s airbag – 10 points
• Front passenger airbag – 10 points
• Side airbags – 10 points
• Head/Curtain airbag – 20 points
• Crash test rating (frontal impact) – Pro-rate, five points per star. *Must be for equivalent spec vehicle rated under current (post-2009) Euro NCAP or Global NCAP.

Safety points were also allocated to cars which have undergone the Euro/Global NCAP crash test – there were only two. Alarmingly, of the 23 cars reviewed, seven did not have any of the above safety features.