A safe pick for small cars include the Honda Civic.
A safe pick for small cars include the Honda Civic.
Twenty one used vehicles rated as top ‘safe picks’ of 220 crash-tested.
Kiwi motorists have fresh information to help assess the safety of their next used vehicle with the release today of the 2015 Used Car Safety Ratings guide.
From 220 car models tested against crash data, only 21 earned the top "safe pick" rating, giving good protection in a crash as well as for others who could be involved - pedestrians, motorcyclists and those in other cars.
The safe picks range from small cars to large SUVs and include the Honda Civic, Ford Falcon FG, Mazda CX-7 and Mercedes Benz M-Class W163.
The guide shows 44 per cent of used vehicles assessed received an excellent or good rating for occupant protection in a crash. At the bottom of the rating system, 71 models were considered poor or very poor and should not be considered a safe purchase, said AA motoring services general manager Stella Stocks.
The Holden Captiva is also one of AA's safe picks.
She said the guide gave motorists the latest information on used cars - the largest car-buying segment in New Zealand - enabling them to easily assess which vehicle in any category would afford them the best protection in a crash.
"The ratings in the guide are based on reports from millions of actual crashes between 1987 and 2013 reported to police in New Zealand and Australia covering about 90 per cent of all popular passenger and light commercial vehicles, which provides a good range of choice for motorists," she said.
"As more data is collected on each of the vehicles ... we're able to provide motorists with the best information possible enabling them to buy the safest car they can."
For the first time a vehicle in the light-car category has earned a rating of excellent - the Ford Fiesta, manufactured between 2009 and 2013.
Ms Stocks said motorists would notice some cars, especially later models, missing from the guide.
The Volkswagen Passat.
"Enough crash data is required on each vehicle in the guide to ensure the rating is robust. If a particular model hasn't been involved in many crashes, then there's not enough data to consider.
"In those cases, motorists should review a vehicle's rating as a new car."
Ms Stocks said new car crash test results, done in controlled conditions, were provided by the Australasian New Car Assessment Programme.
"Motorists have a number of decisions as they consider the options for their next car and for many, price and functionality for how they intend to use it are usually at the top of the list.
"The Used Car Safety Ratings guide enables motorists to consider crash performance and driver protection across a variety of cars in a specific category," she said.
The AA and the New Zealand Transport Agency are members of the Vehicle Safety Research Group, which commissioned the analysis of the crash data by the Monash University Accident Research Centre.
