Watch This Nissan 'Hardbody' Collapse In A Zero-Rated Crash Test
Ladies and gents, this is what a zero-rated NCAP crash test looks like. Not pretty, is it?
The vehicle in question is the Nissan NP300 Hardbody, a South African market version of the Navara. It was being evaluated by Global NCAP as part of the Safer Cars for Africa campaign, and the full report makes for grim reading.
Bodyshell integrity was said to be “unstable,” and the car offered “poor protection” for the driver’s head, chest and knees. The dummy passenger didn’t fare much better. The entry-level NP300 tested had driver and passenger airbags, but no side, curtain or knee airbags, and no seatbelt pretensioners.
The irony of the vehicle’s name was not lost on Global NCAP general secretary David Ward. “It is astonishing that a global company like Nissan can produce a car today as poorly engineered as this,” he said, adding, “The NP300 Hardbody is ridiculously misnamed as its body shell has collapsed.”
Last year, the Fiat Punto received a zero-star rating from Euro NCAP. A few months ago, the ageing supermini was finally removed from Fiat’s UK range.
Via Carmag.co.za
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
They made BeamNG a real thing
That’s called “accidents”
“Soft-body physics” still has nothing on this truck
Hardbody? What a ridiculous name. Peugeot did a much better job at this, by literally naming their Pick-up for the South African market… erh… “Pick-up”…
I think it’s a throwback to the old D21 hardbodies, where hardbody referred to their double wall beds
NP300 Cardboardbody
I’m not surprised. The Nissan Tsuru/Sentra B13 had terrible results as well in the Latin NCAP.
https://youtu.be/K4h7l8DWyw8
Is this museum piece currently still in production? with zero airbags?
Nasty. Very nasty.
Tbh Mexico (and Latin America in general) really loves to continue making cars that were discontinued everywhere else 20 years ago. And South Africa as well, they kept making the facelifted Golf Mk I for over 25 years and they called it the “Citi Golf”.
More like Softbody.
Argh, beat me to it
Scary. The Hardbody is actually a first gen (97-04) Navara, which is sold in SA alongside the new Navara as a budget alternative. Shows you how far we have come…
I can’t decide if this comment makes sense considering the D21 (pre 97 nissan truck) was already called “Navara” in most markets and “Hardbody” in others. Definitelly interesting to know the D22 (generation in the video, which you call 1st gen) is sold as a cheaper alternative in SA though.
I would love to see all the cheap cars in India being crash tested by NCAP. It’s not a legal requirement to have air bags so that cars are cheaper, and the cheapest of cars have incredibly poor structure.
If you google global ncap you’ll find the tests for India and South Africa.
That’s a 1997 Navara.
Not that bad.
I personally think the biggest reason manufacturers don’t integrate a ton safety stuff is as to not drive up the price. That’s one of the big reason new cars cost so much.
That’s true but then you’re basically putting a price on life
Adjusted for inflation, new cars have never been cheaper
This pick-up was made with so much love that it will hug you before it dies