The Toyota Corolla Cross and Toyota RAV4 have secured five-star ratings in the first Taiwan New Car Assessment Program (TNCAP) evaluations, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said on Thursday.
The program was created in 2018 to test the safety of some of the best-selling vehicles on the domestic market, with an emphasis on collisions with pedestrians and other vehicles. It was originally scheduled to begin in 2021, but was delayed until this year.
To administer the evaluation, the ministry tasked the Consumers’ Foundation to dispatch undercover shoppers to purchase the eight most popular vehicles in Taiwan: the Toyota Corolla Cross, Toyota RAV4, Toyota Altis, Honda CR-V, Ford Kuga, Ford Focus, Nissan Kicks and Nissan Sentra.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications
The program would evaluate two models each quarter through a series of collision tests as well as vehicles’ safety devices and the protection they offer to adults, children and pedestrians. The highest rating granted by the program is five stars.
The Toyota Corolla Cross and Toyota RAV4 were last year ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in terms of sales volume respectively.
In the evaluations, the Toyota Corolla Cross scored 85 percent for adult occupant protection, 80 percent for child occupant protection, 82 percent for protection for vulnerable road users and 68 percent for safety assistance, the ministry said.
Scores for the Toyota RAV4 were 87 percent, 85 percent, 84 percent and 69 percent in their respective categories, it said.
The two models secured five-star ratings in other countries that implement the TNCAP system as well, although their scores in Taiwan were lower than those elsewhere, the Vehicle Safety Certification Center said.
The front seats failed to reach top quality and the vehicles lack a speed-limit assist system, which can warn drivers or intervene based on speed limits, the center said.
Vehicles manufactured in Taiwan do not come equipped with such systems, it added.
The collision test used two adult-sized male crash dolls seated in the front and two child-sized dolls emulating a six-year-old and a 10-year-old seated in the back.
The test was designed to examine vehicles’ safety equipment and their protection of occupants, the ministry said.
The program is to evaluate the Honda CR-V and Toyota Altis in the second quarter, and announce the results at the end of June, the ministry said.
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