A Best-Selling Car In South America Just Scored Zero Stars For Crash Safety
A division of safety organisation NCAP has once again brandished the cane upon the exposed knuckles of a sub-standard car, just a week after we saw crash test footage showing an African model of the Great Wall Steed crumpling like tracing paper.
Latin NCAP is similarly unimpressed with Brazil’s second-best-selling car, the local variant of the Ford Ka. After obliterating several examples in standardised crash testing routines, NCAP’s furrowed brow delivered a zero-star overall rating for crash safety.
That includes a 50 per cent score for pedestrian safety, 34 per cent for adult occupant safety, just nine per cent for child occupant protection and seven per cent for its safety assist systems. We’ll take a hard pass, thanks.
Ford has responded by saying it will add side airbags and stability control to all versions. NCAP says the improved version is better, but won’t release a result until Ford officially makes the features standard across all models in the region. The score has little relevance to European models, which have a much greater safety setup from the factory.
Acknowledging this, Alejandro Furas, Latin NCAP’s Secretary General said:
“We as consumers should reject vehicles from car makers that offer world class standard safety in some markets, while in Latin America, they offer such poor protection levels as standard.
“Latin NCAP encourages Ford to substantially improve the Ka standard safety to the same level of the new [Chevrolet] Onix very soon.”
The footage makes pretty grim viewing. If you’re heading to Brazil any time soon, choose your taxis carefully.
Comments
we don’t use Ka ‘s as taxis
“Latin American lives don’t matter.”
Ford
This car was also sold as the Figo sedan here, not a very good car.