safety

[steve09]

when buying a new car do you ever look up the safety features and ncap rating or do you just look for peformance and handling?

compare this chinese car (probably less than a one star :/ watch where the steering wheel ends up and what position the drive would be in)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7Ts94rjr4M

to a five star freelander
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mGP4g2uK7Q

it even goes for small cars which you would think along the lines of 'your knees are the crumple zones

an A3 (for waynne ) you have a pretty safe ride 4 stars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaUN2QKInnk&NR=1

compaired to a 2 star
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESp1qvRXp4M
(watch the roof in this one )

i personaly would go for a mix of the two. after seeing some of those i dont think i will really in all honesty get a car thats under 3 star :/
because you dont know what other people on the road are going to do and there are some idiots out there who dont know how to control there car but STILL drive like they stole it. :/ makes you think

 

[steve09]

this one takes the prize tho. i cannot believe this actually went into production :amazed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weFVM7K4Clo

 

[walter leever]

looking back,at what i used to drive(small hot-hatches)and how i drove,i'm glad that nothing serious happened in all this time,so knowing what i now know,i would now go for a safe&fast car.

 

[HDi fun]

Most of us have been silly at some point when we were young. Thankfully we got away with it. It's testimony to the safety of modern cars that there were fewer UK road deaths during the last ten years than there were in the period between 1920-1930!!

Not deaths per vehicle, but actually less overall!! And we drive greater distances oer year, too!! And the population is higher so there are more pedestrians to hit !!!!

 

[walter leever]

this what i'm about to may not be the most popular thing to say but someone has got to do it;i think it's not wise to allow the youngsters from the beginning fast cars with a lot power untill they're a bit more experienced,and then possibly the insurances may become cheaper? and then after a period/number of driven miles you're free to choose what you want.how do you'll see this?am i right or am i wrong?

 

[HDi fun]

I think you're right. But it's equally possible to drive a 1.3 litre car very dangerously anyway.

 

[walter leever]

that's true,but you'll have to "work" alot harder to do so

 

[pgarner]

i admit i used to think this way as well people should stick to small cars until they are more experianced. however i think i have changed.

its not hard to drive a small car dangerous. think about it you go to try and overtake something even on a longish stright with something coming in the difference. now on a high powered car you can easily pass this lorry bus whatever. But in a small 1 ltr car your going to run out of steam, and ether you or whatever your overtaking has to hit the anchors to allow you to get back in

 

[walter leever]

true,but that only proves that if you're experienced you know when to do these manouvres,and you're in the know about your cars capabillities.

 

[Prince]

Back on topic...I look at the safety of a car, but I'd rather have performance. What would you rather drive? A 250BHP car with a 3 star rating or a 50BHP car with a 5 star rating? Personally I'd go for the 250BHP!

 

[HDi fun]

Likewise, so would I.

 

[obi_waynne]

Me too.

 

[old-git]

My wife is sitting next to me surfing Autotrader on her PC, looking for a new (S/H) car, as she has just written off her Astra. She wants power steering, windows and hood, At least 2litres, NOT silver, red or dark blue. Must be pretty. She has been looking at emissions (won't make any difference to her choice) but hasn't even looked at ENCAP ratings. If you did, you would only buy a bloody Volvo

 

[HDi fun]

Not a fan of Vauxhall's in general, although I did have a soft spot for the 24v Senators.

The current astra (2005 on) is actually a very credible car. Even in 1.6 petrol form it makes a very decent attempt (and suceeds to an impressive degree) at getting on with things. NCAP tests stack up well, and I remember the 1.8 I drove in 2005 having extremely good braking stability. Better than any small Vauxhall I've ever driven.

Even Clarkson thinks they're pretty and I'm sure there's a few soft tops available that aren't in the forbidden colours.