Hyundai plays it safe

By ALASTAIR SLOANE


Korean carmaker Hyundai, buoyant after finishing near the top of customer satisfaction and quality control surveys in the United States and Britain, is about to launch an unprecedented safety campaign in New Zealand.

From July 1, every new Hyundai will come with a portable fire extinguisher, first-aid kit and reflective orange vest as standard equipment.

The company says its use of the safety pack is to highlight the importance on New Zealand roads of being prepared for emergencies.

"A first-aid kit should be carried in every vehicle on our roads," said Hyundai New Zealand general manager Phillip Eustace.

"And we all know fires can occur in vehicles, as we've seen in several recent tragic accidents."

Eustace said the safety pack complied with Occupational Safety and Health standards. The Wormald fire extinguisher would be fitted inside the car and the first-aid kit and vest would sit in the boot. "It's a safety-first initiative from Hyundai and one which we hope other brands will follow ... I'm throwing down the gauntlet."

One of the first new Hyundai models to get the safety pack will be the four-wheel-drive Tucson, on sale here in August.

The safety pack follows Hyundai's move last year to equip its cars with dual airbags and ABS anti-lock brakes as standard. It also included Electronic Brake Distribution, which aids braking. Previously, Hyundai lagged behind other mainstream carmakers in this area.

It will also reduce from next month the cost of replacement airbags, in an attempt to discourage the use of non-deployed airbags from wrecked vehicles.

"Fitting bags from wrecked cars is becoming more common because new spares can be too expensive and current laws allow the practice," said Eustace.

"The thinking is that airbags which have not been deployed are okay to take out of a wrecked car and fitted into another vehicle.

"But we believe it is unsafe. There's no effective way to check if the bags really are still in perfect working order ... except of course to set them off."

Hyundai is pricing new replacement airbags at below $3000. Some can cost up to $8000. "Generally speaking, the larger the car the higher the price of the airbag," said Eustace.

Insurance companies often write off cars whose airbags have deployed because of the replacement costs.