Honda City gets Asean scheme's 5-star rating
The Honda City has received a 5-star safety rating in the Asean NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme), a crashworthiness rating programme conducted for vehicles sold in Southeast Asian markets.
The City received the 5-star rating, the highest possible, for the offset frontal crash test and also received the highest score of 81 per cent for child safety, according to an official release from distributor Honda Automobile (Thailand).
The NCAP crash tests were conducted by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS), an agency under the Transport Ministry and the headquarters for Asean NCAP. In 2011, MIROS signed a collaboration agreement with Global NCAP – a non-profit organisation which aims to reduce the number of injuries due to traffic accidents – to encourage automobile manufactures to develop safer vehicles and also make information about vehicle safety performance known to consumers across the globe.
MIROS handles independent NCAP testing for vehicles available in Southeast Asia. The Asean NCAP tested a Malaysian-made Honda City. The City in other countries in the region, including Thailand, has equivalent specifications and standard equipment.
Honda has introduced safety features in the Honda City SV VSA. They include Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) that helps to stabilise the automobile during cornering and maintain traction while accelerating on loose or slippery road surfaces, ISOFIX international-standard attachment points for anchoring child safety seats, and a seat belt reminder system for passengers.
“The Asean NCAP test results gave the Honda City SV VSA a 5-star safety rating, the highest it offers, for an offset frontal collision. This means they validate the effectiveness of the safety features designed for the Honda City in all markets of the Asean region. I am glad that Honda Automobile Thailand can also deliver such a safe vehicle to our customers from our Ayutthaya assembly plant,” said Honda Automobile (Thailand) executive vice president Pitak Pruittisarikorn.
The Asean NCAP frontal offset crash test uses two crash test dummies in the driver and front passenger seats and two child dummies representing a 3-year-old and an 18-month-old in the rear seats with a Child Restraint System. The test car, moving at 64 km/h, impacts a deformable aluminum crash barrier to simulate an automobile collision. The results are recorded by sensors installed in both the dummies and the vehicle, then evaluated to determine the NCAP.
