Which used cars are safest?

Some of Australia’s most common second-hand vehicles are also among the most vulnerable from a safety perspective, according to the latest used car safety ratings guide from the RACQ.

Running the rule over 372 vehicle models released between 1996 and 2016, the guide applies to some of the most popular vehicles in Australia and New Zealand and is based on statistics of more than eight million real-world crashes.

Above all else, the ratings suggest some of the most common vehicles purchased by young and elderly drivers aren’t always the safest.

For example, many small hatchbacks considered a rite of passage for young motorists were rated as “very poor”, scoring just one star out of five for safety.

These include older versions of the Suzuki Swift (2011-2016), Holden Barina (1995-2011), Ford Fiesta (2004-2008), Mazda2 (2002-2007), Hyundai Getz (2002-2011), Kia Rio (2000-2011) and Toyota Echo (1999-2005).

“It goes to show even though they’re both small cars, popular with young drivers, they can have dramatically different levels of protection,” said RACQ head of safety policy Steve Spalding.

“A person driving a one-star vehicle is almost twice as likely to be killed or seriously hurt than someone in a five-star car. Worryingly, 107 vehicles were rated ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’.”

Larger cars tended to fare marginally better. Earlier examples of the Commodore, including the VR/VS and VT/VX scored only one star in the ratings, however, later models incrementally improved all the way through to the swansong VF, which managed the full five stars.

The Ford Falcon received higher average ratings from the AU series (1998-2002) onwards.

European vehicles typically rated higher, reflecting the fact their adoption of safety technology was typically earlier than many mainstream marques.

This was particularly evident in smaller models including the Audi A3, BMW 1 Series and Volkswagen Golf, which generally held higher safety ratings.

Not all cheap small cars were hit with poor ratings. Mainstream offerings from Ford, Holden, Hyundai and Subaru came away with four-star scores, for example.

On the SUV front, only the Toyota RAV4 built between 1994 and 2000 was awarded a one-star score. Some 20 cars from the SUV category rated the full five stars in the poll.

The RACQ guide ranks each model on the results of real-world crashes investigated by police. The RACQ commissioned Monash University to compile the figures.

While larger vehicles tended to be safer in the guide, Spalding pointed out the ratings should be considered against other factors, including whether a large vehicle was best suited to learner drivers.

Spalding said while older, low-rated cars were often cheaper, there were still safe and affordable used vehicles available.

“Smart, safe choices needn’t hit you in the hip pocket. A safe used vehicle can be picked up for less than $10,000.”

The analysis follows a controlled head-on collision by the Australasian New Car Assessment Program last year, in which the two vehicles were aged 20 years apart. The results were telling.

Figures show that vehicles built before 2000 make up just 20 per cent of cars on the road, yet are involved in one-third of crashes.