How safe South Africa’s favourite second-hand cars really are

Vehicle safety has become a priority for new car buyers in South Africa, regardless of the market they are entering.

Considering the second-hand market in South Africa outsells the new-vehicle segment by more than two vehicles to one, it is important to know how safe the country’s favourite second-hand cars really are.

To find out, we got in touch with AutoTrader to establish what its most-searched-for vehicles in the first quarter of 2021 were.

Safer cars

“It is encouraging to see that South Africans are opting to search for safer cars,” said George Mienie, AutoTrader CEO.

This includes the likes of the VW Golf.

“The 2015 Volkswagen Golf and indeed its GTI sibling were rated Top Safety Pick+ by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) during crash testing.”

Mienie further notes that the BMW 3 Series – another popular search – is also renowned for being top of its class in crash safety.

“In fact, it was crowned as the safest car of the year in the 2020 What Car Awards, beating stiff competition from the Mercedes CLA and Tesla Model 3.”

This characteristic extends to the BMW X5, too, as it scored perfect ratings in both driver and passenger impact tests.

The 2017 Toyota Hilux – the most-searched-for single and double cab bakkie on AutoTrader – also achieved an exceptional score during Australasian NCAP testing.

“It scored the maximum of five stars, meaning that South Africa’s most popular new car is also extremely safe,” said Mienie.

Reading the stars

The level of crash safety that a particular vehicle provides is rated out of a maximum of five stars, with most of the ratings provided by the New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP).

The organisation assesses each vehicle in four safety categories: adult occupant protection, child occupant protection, vulnerable road user protection, and safety assist systems fitted.

According to NCAP, the star ratings can be read as follows:

• 5 Stars – Overall excellent performance in crash protection and well equipped with crash-avoidance technology.
• 4 Stars – Overall good performance in crash protection and all-round, additional crash-avoidance technology may be present.
• 3 Stars – At least average occupant protection, but not always equipped with the latest crash-avoidance features.
• 2 Stars – Nominal crash protection, but lacking crash-avoidance technology.
• 1 Star – Marginal crash protection and little in the way of crash-avoidance technology.
• 0 Stars – Meeting type-approval standards so can legally be sold, but lacking critical modern safety technology.

In the tables below, we have detailed the safety ratings of the most-searched-for vehicles on AutoTrader in the first quarter of 2021.

Click on the underlined score to read a vehicle’s safety report.

Hatchback

Sedan

SUV

Double Cab

Single Cab