As for battery, IIRC the last battery in the Xsara lasted for 5 years or 6 years... something like that. Maintenance free one. After 4 months of letting the car stand in the garage it started pretty much right away, with a several year old battery. Might be the cold weather that helps, or the quality is better That being said the battery in the Kangoo also lasted like 3 years or so (and it only failed when the engine bay is hot, otherwise still no problems starting), and that car is in Malaysia. Also no problems starting after a few months...

Btw., what was recently changed for example was that for a 5 star rating you need 60% pedestrian protection, not just 40%. So many 5 star cars would be downgraded to 3 stars if tested today. However that doesn't make a difference to those in the car... whereas in C-NCAP the change was much more significant.

As for Suzuki: Other markets may adopt the test, and in any case they can now advertise with how good it did in this test, even for cars that are on sale in Malaysia for example.

Ps: I hate Pug because they bought Citroen and ruined it, took out all the creativity and madness and uniqueness there was.


This post has been edited by kadajawi: Dec 27 2012, 06:10 PM

From what I understand, CNCAP was intentionally held back so that Chinese automakers can get their stuff up to spec before raising the bar higher. Kind of like a milestone, but there's no indication on how strict the CNCAP test standards are post July 2012 except for the frontal testing. Are they following the same EuroNCAP test protocols or a relaxed version until Chinese manufacturers can get their act together?

I'm curious how ASEAN NCAP select their cars for testing. Is it picked from a random manufacturing batch or volunteered in by their respective marques? Hopefully this will encourage safer cars on the road in the near future.

I hope the cars are randomly bought by ASEAN NCAP, but who knows. All we know so far is the list of cars to be tested.

I just test drove the Kia Sportage and Optima, are these better or worst than Pugs 308t and 408t, Madza 3 2.0 and CX-5?

I must admit I was very comfortable with the Kia Sportage although on my mind, will I be throwing money away on such cars?

Next trip will be the Volvo showroom. I was told Volvos are a pain to own, can anyone prove my rumour mill wrong?

Actually i'm curious where is the source of fund for the NCAP lab to buy car and conduct crash test.

Their respective governments, IINM.

Volvo made safety their utmost priority in the design of their cars, it is part of their design mantra. Not sure about their reliability but they are one of the safest car manufacturers in the world today. The KIA Optima also scored very well in the latest IIHS optional small overlap test. These cars are currently the safest cars available on the market today and they should be safer than the cars you have listed except maybe for the CX5. But don't take my word for it, fire up EuroNCAP site to find out yourself.

To quote Dr van Ratingen: '...our tests demonstrate how important it is for manufacturers to keep their cars up to date when it comes to safety. As our protocols develop, cars last tested many years ago should not be assumed to compare well with more modern vehicles. Consumers should buy cars on the basis that the more recent the star rating, the safer the car.'

http://www.euroncap.com/Content-Web-Faq/50...or-testing.aspx

Looking at things from another lens.


http://www.iihs.org/research/hldi/composite
http://www.iihs.org/externaldata/srdata/docs/sr4707.pdf

This post has been edited by EnergyAnalyst: Dec 28 2012, 01:20 AM

Good info, they buy their own cars or obtain it in a manner where you can't prepare a specialized variant to cheat the test.

Throwing your money away in what sense?

Probably worried about resale value of these KIA I think.

That makes Malaysian Camry owner even more worrisome

i don't know in my household we all use maintenance free batteries, every time battery going to die we bring to workshop to change then think maybe got warranty, take out the warranty card and see....ARGH! just slightly over warranty period

suzuki makes pretty good cars but dunno if the ones sold here would fair the same in the test or not

IKR the citroen pikaso was weird yet wonderful, nowadays its weird but not so wonderful

Spot on, zweimmk.

However after viewing the euroncap website, the KIA sportage looks the best for buck car at the moment. I was told the newer engines Sportage will be available in Mac 13, and waiting period is 3 months. Saw the CX-5 as well, it is better than the Sportage by just a point, but pricewise, it is almost 20k more. But this will change if the new CRV comes with 6 airbags.

I wonder how are Naza Kia's and Mazda's SC, good or fxxked up?

As for the Pugs, I supposed it will have to wait, need a SUV at the moment.

There are pros and cons to owning a continental. As always, do your research on the potential problems you will have to deal with when buying a continental. If you're not prepared to deal with these problems, then I suggest to just go for a Japanese car. I think the CX5 comes heavily equipped with a lot of niceties The KIA Sportage is good too if you don't mind the badge. As for the CRV, I don't know too much about it as I have absolutely no interest in that car, hahaha.

For sedan, I think the Ford Focus is probably the star of the C-segment at the moment. EuroNCAP 5 star crash test and lots of gadgets to boot. Only downside is the rear passenger space.

Check with cybermaster for Kia's SC. Buy him cyber-lunch or something? ! Else wait for CKD Mazda CX5 ? Did they say how cheaper it will be, am shopping for a SUV too for 2013.

mazda and kia sc, both lppl
depends on which sc actually.

Oh if you have the budget for a CX5, then you are pretty much in the Passat/508/Cross Touran Range/5008 as well. You can consider looking at those cars if your budget allows it.

pajero vgt oso gooding mah