These are some of the safest budget cars to drive in South Africa

The Global NCAP and the Automobile Association (AA) South Africa have published the latest round of crash test results for some of South Africa’s most popular cars.

The Safer Cars For Africa Campaign was launched by the Global NCAP in 2017 with the objective of promoting safer vehicles across the continent of Africa.

To date, a total of 15 cars across a range of brands have been tested – with the focus primarily on budget and bestselling models. The tests typically focus on the cheapest variants of each vehicle, where some have no airbags at all.

The three models tested in the latest round include:

• The Steed 5 pick up from Great Wall;
• The Haval H1 five-door SUV;
• The Kwid five-door compact from Renault.

The Global NCAP said that the three cars tested gave serious cause for concern with poor levels of adult and child protection.

Alarmingly, the results show that the zero-rated Great Wall Steed 5 demonstrated a high probability of life-threatening injury.

“Another zero-star rated bakkie gives us very serious cause for concern in our latest crash test results for Africa,” said Alejandro Furas, Global NCAP secretary-general.

“The potential for life-threatening injury in the Steed 5 follows the zero-star performance of the Nissan Hardbody pick up. The contrast between the marketing claims for such vehicles and the reality of their poor safety performance could not be more stark.”

Below are the full list of tests from the last three years, and how each car performed. The cars are ordered from least to most safe (total star ratings).

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Chery QQ3 – No Airbags

• Tested model: Chery QQ3
• Body type: 5 Door Hatchback
• Year of publication: 2017

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Great Wall Steed 5 – No Airbags

• Tested model: Great Wall Steed 5
• Body type: 4 Door Pick Up
• Year of publication: 2020

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Nissan NP300 Hardbody – 2 Airbags

• Tested model: Nissan P300 Hardbody
• Body type: 4 Door Pick-Up
• Year of publication: 2018

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Haval H1 – 2 Airbags

• Tested model: Haval H1
• Body type: 5 Door SUV
• Year of publication: 2020

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Renault Kwid – 2 Airbags

• Tested model: Renault Kwid
• Body type: 5 Door Compact
• Year of publication: 2020

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Suzuki Ignis – 2 Airbags

• Tested model: Suzuki Ignis
• Body type: 5 Door Compact Hatchback
• Year of publication: 2019

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Honda Amaze – 2 Airbags

• Tested model: Honda Amaze
• Body type: 5 Door Sedan
• Year of publication: 2019

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Hyundai i20 – 2 Airbags

• Tested model: Hyundai i20
• Body type: 5 Door Hatchback
• Year of publication: 2018

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Kia Picanto – 1 Airbag

• Tested model: Kia Picanto
• Body type: 5 Door Hatchback
• Year of publication: 2018

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Toyota Avanza – 2 Airbags

• Tested model: Toyota Avanza
• Body type: 5 Door MPV
• Year of publication: 2019

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Toyota Yaris – 2 Airbags

• Tested model: Toyota Yaris, RHD
• Body type: 5 Door Hatchback
• Year of publication: 2018

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Volkswagen Polo Vivo – 2 Airbags

• Tested model: Volkswagen Polo Vivo
• Body type: 5 Door Hatchback
• Year of publication: 2017

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Renault Sandero – 2 Airbags

• Tested model: Renault Sandero
• Body type: 5 Door Hatchback
• Year of publication: 2017

 

 

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Toyota Etios – 2 Airbags

• Tested model: Toyota Etios
• Body type: 5 Door Hatchback
• Year of publication: 2017

 

 

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Read: Volkswagen reveals R1 million bakkie