I recently tried to find a safety listing for cars tested by a wellknown European organisation, but could not find the correct website. Furthermore, are these results good enough to be used as a guide when purchasing a new car?
DANIE BURGER – By e-mail
The URL is www.euroncap.com and it will allow you to search for the results for any vehicle it has tested. However, the tests are not compulsory, so not all models will be listed. Furthermore, the results for pre- and post-2009 models are summarised differently, so one cannot compare them directly. The artificial nature of these tests, and the values given to various safety aspects, guarantee that the ratings are not accepted by all manufacturers. We don’t think the ratings are a direct measure of how safe a particular car will be in an accident, because no two accidents are the same in all respects. However, EuroNCAP is the recognised authority on crash safety ratings, and can be used as a guide when comparing models competing in the same category, taking cognisance of the limitations described above.
