Small-car safety getting better

Small-car safety is improving, says the Land Transport Safety Authority, using crash test results from the Australian New Car Assessment Programme as evidence.

The results, which combined Australian and European tests, designated the Audi A3, Holden Astra, Mercedes A140, Peugeot 206, Toyota Echo and VW Golf as the safest small cars.

Results were reported on a scale of one to four stars, with more stars indicating lower injury risk. The best Australian results came from the Hyundai Accent, Daihatsu Sirion and Mazda 323, which all got three stars.

On two stars were the Nissan Pulsar and Daewoo Nubira, with the Daewoo Lanos rated one star.

"Unfortunately, the tests indicate that there is still a high risk of life-threatening injury in some models," authority safer vehicles manager Simon Whiteley said.

Results from Europe gave four stars to the Audi A3; Holden Astra; Mercedes A140; Peugeot 206; Toyota Echo and VW Golf, and three stars to the Toyota Corolla and Peugeot 306.

Test procedures involved an offset frontal test, a side impact test and pedestrian test.

"Research shows there is a strong correlation between the offset frontal crash test and the injuries sustained from serious on-road crashes," Mr Whiteley said.

It was pleasing to see lower-cost vehicles achieving three and four-star results, he said.

The authority joined the crash test programme this year with the aim of improving consumer access to vehicle safety information.

How they rate

Four stars: Audi A3, Holden Astra, Mercedes A140, Peugeot 206, Toyota Echo, VW Golf.

Three stars: Daihatsu Sirion, Ford Ka, Hyundai Accent, Mazda 323, Peugeot 306, Toyota Corolla.

Two stars: Nissan Pulsar, Daewoo Nubira.

One star: Daewoo Lanos.

Full ANCAP test results