farmdoc's blog post number 656

Today’s ‘List Friday’. Yesterday it rained steadily here. Which reminded me that rain after a prolonged dry period means treacherous road conditions due to the rain’s effect on accumulated road oil. Not to mention that here in backwoods Tasmania, when road and traffic conditions change, drivers alter their driving not a jot. So vehicle safety’s on my mind. My new Triton has a 4-star rating (out of a maximum five stars) from ANCAP (i.e. the Australasian New Car Assessment Program. (My Peugeot was also 4-star.) But the world being what it is, the most respected rating is from Euro NCAP. Which explains why today’s list – ‘The world’s top five safest cars’ – is based on Euro NCAP test results. Anyway in order (from top down), the five are the VW Golf, Honda Insight, Toyota Prius, Hyundai i20, and three cars tied for fifth. I don’t know if it’s coincidence or not, but the second and third placegetters are both petrol-electric hybrids. Maybe manufacturers of hybrids deliberately engineer them to be safer cars. These test results are a good guide, but still a bit theoretical. ANCAP’s website says ‘The test results do not prove which is the safest car in all types and severities of crashes. As a guide, consumers should look for vehicles that have earned at least 4 stars’. So today’s list may not be a list of the safest cars under all conditions. But I’m comforted that my vehicle rates four stars; and Sweetheart Vivienne’s rates five stars.