NCAP stands for New Car Assessment Program, where in short the cars safety capabilities are tested and rated on a star based system. The maximum a car can score is 5 stars. In short, the idea is more stars, the higher the safety rating. There are several agencies around the world which conduct these tests, notably Euro NCAP for Europe, ANCAP for Australia and ASEAN NCAP for Malaysia and its neighbouring countries.
What does 5 stars in an NCAP test mean?
A typical NCAP assessment involves a series of physical crash tests, assessment of on board safety features and equipments, and the test of active collision avoidance systems and tech. During these tests, 4 key parameters are monitored which are Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection, Vulnerable Road User Protection and Safety Assist. How well they perform in these four factors will determine their point scores, which determine their star rating. The lowest scoring part out of this 4 will determine the overall safety rating of a vehicle and its overall star scores.
While these tests are thorough the real world complexity can never be fully captured. Plus cars that meet legal requirement may not have any star scores. Simply because the score requirements could be far higher than required.
How do cars on sale in Malaysia score in various NCAP tests?
Our local carmakers score between 4 to 5 stars mostly, with Proton’s scoring 5 stars on the ASEAN NCAP . Chinese products like GAC Emzoom gets 5 stars from the ASEAN NCAP, while Chery’s Omoda 5, Tiggo 7 Pro and Tiggo 8 Pro scores 5 stars in ANCAP from Australia. Honda’s CR-V scores 5 stars in the ASEAN NCAP test, while scores 4 stars in the ANCAP tests.
Between 5 and 4 star rated vehicles, the vehicle with 4 star rating might have lacked behind in one or more key assessment. What it means is the occupants and children on board could be exposed to higher risk of injury, and a reduced ability to avoid a crash. A car with lesser star rating therefore offers lesser protection for the occupants, pedestrians and lower collision prevention capabilities
No and hidden NCAP ratings amongst new cars
Some cars that are sold in Malaysia shockingly have scored ZERO NCAP stars.
A new model which was launched recently, scored zero stars in the ANCAP test. We are frankly puzzled how the brand decided to introduce a car with zero rating for the Malaysian market.
The other model from the same brand however has a perfect 5 star rating. Some brands choose to not disclose the NCAP ratings officially. Said brands have either 4 stars or lower scores compared to their competitors.
In Conclusion
Safety ratings have to be the most critical factor when deciding to buy a car. Buyers should know what these ratings mean, and all the information is available online with full safety report. Not only the driver, but passengers, children on board, pedestrian and motorcyclists safety should be taken into consideration. Plus the collision prevention technology reduces the probability of collision in the first place.
If a car scores between 5-4 stars, the car should be meeting a relatively high safety standard. 3 stars could be due to poor scores in parameters like collision prevention tech or pedestrian impact. While anything lesser than that has a compromised safety system. A car with ZERO STARS is unsafe even if its parked. As falling on it could injure you a great deal compared to other cars.