New safety ratings aim to help car buyers - New Zealand Herald
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... 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 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... 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. Source: www.nzherald.co.nz
