Safest Car for 8k approx

Jude13

Morning all,

I witnessed a bus plow throw the central crash barrier this morning narrowly missing on coming traffic. The driver of the bus just seemed to ignore the slight bend in the road and carry on driving straight. It scared the bejebus out of me.

My GF has a budget of about 8k euro for car, she is currently renting a chevy spark. Sadly that's the limit she/we can spend at the moment. Now I know no car in a head on collision with a bus would come out well however which car would you good people recommend looking for?

For example would a larger older car be better than a smaller new car?

Cheers all

drunkmonkey

I've taken bmw's & Volkswagen through walls. Bmw held up way better. I'd stick her in a 3 series to be safe.*


*take her somewhere to show her how rwd works so she doesn't get a surprise in the wet.

Sobanek

Volvo S40/V50 at this budget.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovvAji6Igaw

Jude13

drunkmonkey wrote: »

I've taken bmw's & Volkswagen through walls. Bmw held up way better. I'd stick her in a 3 series to be safe.*


*take her somewhere to show her how rwd works so she doesn't get a surprise in the wet.

Cheers, I will give them a look. So it's the usual German and Swedish makers? Even older ones over a new Kia.

I live in the middle east so when its wet she uses my LR3 as the roads flood and she has a longer commute.

CJhaughey

Saab 9-5 Estate, the alltime best NCAP scorer.
Much less than 8k unless you want a very new one

bazery

saab or volvo, following that something german

colm_mcm

Sobanek wrote: »

Volvo S40/V50 at this budget.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovvAji6Igaw

Or the ford focus that the S40 is based on. Incidentally the Ford gets a slightly better adult occupant and the same child occupant rating.

corkgsxr

Saab's hold up very well in crashes.

lovely car too. Never liked them till I drove the bosses one. Soo much thought put into the little details

keithclancy

If a bus ploughs into your head on, ain't no amount of safety features are going to save you.

I have a V50, nice car, the Ford Focii are a bit gammy looking on the inside for my liking.

mickdw

The crash ratings would tell you that a newer car, even a small one is safer than an old car but These tests appear to ignore the mass of the car which will be very much a factor in a head on crash for example. With the ops budget, I would go for a substantial car from around 08 or better.

colm_mcm

mickdw wrote: »

The crash ratings would tell you that a newer car, even a small one is safer than an old car but These tests appear to ignore the mass of the car which will be very much a factor in a head on crash for example. With the ops budget, I would go for a substantial car from around 08 or better.

What would you have in mind for post 08 €8000?

bazz26

colm_mcm wrote: »

What would you have in mind for post 08 €8000?

Not too far from their budget and modern Renaults are pretty good in crash tests:


http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Renault/Laguna/1.5-DIESEL/44513969658713930/

Jude13

Struggling to find anything that she will like and be safe in from 08 onwards for 8k with no ridiculous kms.

I was thinking a golf, but its not a huge car. 3 series would be good but cant seem to find one in the range, I will be importing from Dubai hopefully.

drunkmonkey

Golf is way over priced for the year...is she hauling around kids or is it just for herself, will she do much milage.
There's a fairly poor selection of good cars for sale from 07/08 upwards and what's there seems priced on the high side.

Golf Gti's seem to be going very cheap if a petrol is of any use.

bazz26

I'd imagine the cars on sale in Dubai would not really be similar to what is on sale in Ireland. Fuel is cheap over there so most stuff would be larger petrol engined compared to here.

Jude13

Petrol is no issue as I live in the gulf. No kids in the car, only a 20 minute commute, however the road death rates here in Oman are crazy, they don't count deaths in hospitals only if you are dead at the scene and of course they don't count any sub continent peoples deaths.

The bus crash this morning just brought it home to roost. Also, a colleague of mine from Kerry was killed in an accident due to a lunatic driving maneuver of a third party 4 years ago here.

My GF hasn't the cash to buy so is renting a tiny chevy spark. I am thinking now that I couldn't live with myself if anything happened so am trying to remedy the situation.

Jude13

Not looking for a rocket, just something safe, newish and under 8k euro (or 40,000DHS)

Gazzmonkey

mickdw wrote: »

The crash ratings would tell you that a newer car, even a small one is safer than an old car but These tests appear to ignore the mass of the car which will be very much a factor in a head on crash for example. With the ops budget, I would go for a substantial car from around 08 or better.

My thoughts exactly,

I would be looking for something heavy and well built, German maybe?

ianobrien

If you are over in the Gulf, get a large off roader. Get either a full fat Land Cruiser, Toyota Prado or Nissan Patrol. Both are reliable and you can go dune bashing during the weekend. The brother uses large off-roaders for himself and the little 'uns and he is living in the UAE.

He had a Jeep Cheerokee for a while. He had to fit larger transmission oil coolers as the 'box would overheat and loads of little things went wrong (lock, switches etc). The engine never stopped or the a/c never failed though.....

If buying second hand over there check for chassis/chassis skid damage from off-roading, smooth shifting auto and also check that the tyres are less than 2 years old. Other than that normal checks apply.

MadYaker

Big off roader might be best since petrol is dirt cheap, toyota land cruiser or something similar. Id say second hand cars are more expensive there than they are in Ireland though.

fricatus

Jude13 wrote: »

...the road death rates here in Oman are crazy, they don't count deaths in hospitals only if you are dead at the scene and of course they don't count any sub continent peoples deaths.

Holy sh1t! :eek:

gctest50

Bit rough

The number of Irish road deaths fell to 162 in 2012, the lowest level on record, down 24 from 2011.

"1,051 fatalities and 11,322 injuries in road accidents last year (2011) in Oman is a worrying trend"

Idbatterim

if fuel isnt an issue and motor tax probably doesnt even exist?! get her in a volvo etc... By the sounds of it though, nothing is going to beat being overly observant...

drunkmonkey

Range Rover, Landcruiser, S Class Merc, Bmw 7 series, all should be there for 8k or less. Have a look in the luxobarge thread and see can you pick up something there similar.

H3llR4iser

Jude13 wrote: »

Morning all,

I witnessed a bus plow throw the central crash barrier this morning narrowly missing on coming traffic. The driver of the bus just seemed to ignore the slight bend in the road and carry on driving straight. It scared the bejebus out of me.

My GF has a budget of about 8k euro for car, she is currently renting a chevy spark. Sadly that's the limit she/we can spend at the moment. Now I know no car in a head on collision with a bus would come out well however which car would you good people recommend looking for?

For example would a larger older car be better than a smaller new car?

Cheers all

Frankly, it's a bit of a pointless endeavor. Most modern cars do offer much better safety standards than older cars even 'though it might not be immediately apparent to the uninformed observer: you'll often hear people saying that "new cars crumple like sardine boxes, older cars were much tougher!", which is utter bollox because of a very long list of reasons.

That said, there isn't a dramatic difference between current car models, it's not like an impact that is certainly fatal in a Fiesta will have you walk unscathed in a 7 Series; General rules of physics apply - a longer and wider car will have more bodywork to absorb an impact, thus giving you slightly better odds of survival.

When it comes to mass, it's a double edged affair: an heavier car will fare better in an impact with a moveable obstacle, like another vehicle or road fixtures; Conversely, an heavier car will carry more energy than a lighter one at the same speed, thus impacting with an unmovable obstacle could be worse in a bigger car and might overcome the advantage of bigger crumple zones (it's a contributing factor, for example, to the fact that Smart cars perform so well in the classic crash tests).

To sum it up: most modern cars are quite safe, there will be some difference between models but not as clear cut as it might seem, bigger cars tend to be marginally safer because of physics (thou heartless bitch!:D) and, in any case, if a bus plows into you you're history.

kerten

ianobrien wrote: »

If you are over in the Gulf, get a large off roader. Get either a full fat Land Cruiser, Toyota Prado or Nissan Patrol. Both are reliable and you can go dune bashing during the weekend. The brother uses large off-roaders for himself and the little 'uns and he is living in the UAE.

He had a Jeep Cheerokee for a while. He had to fit larger transmission oil coolers as the 'box would overheat and loads of little things went wrong (lock, switches etc). The engine never stopped or the a/c never failed though.....

If buying second hand over there check for chassis/chassis skid damage from off-roading, smooth shifting auto and also check that the tyres are less than 2 years old. Other than that normal checks apply.

+1

If it is crash safety I am after in gulf, I wouldn't like to be in a smaller and lower car in a crash where half of the cars around me full 4x4s.

toastedpickles

CJhaughey wrote: »

Saab 9-5 Estate, the alltime best NCAP scorer.
Much less than 8k unless you want a very new one

I own one of these, its like driving a tank, i haven't had any dings or bumps, but I've never felt as safe in any other car as i do in mine, it's the second reason i bought it to be honest, it has airbags all over the place, and if you like go and read the ncap report

I'd recommend it for the safety aspect any day of the week

ironclaw

I'm not trying to be funny but we're all recommending European cars for european climate, would half of these even survive in the climate of the UAE / Gulf? Seems to be Toyota wall to wall out there. Just curious!

MadYaker

European cars aren't designed for a European climate (whatever that is) all those oil rich desert countries are a huge market for new cars so id say BMW, Audi and Merc etc make damn sure their cars will perform there just fine and they do.

CiniO

Jude13 wrote: »

however which car would you good people recommend looking for?

Choose car with all modern safety features with highest kerb weight.
The heavier the better.

visual

Was watching on fifth gear crash test with a smart car into concrete barrier. It was showing how tough the safety cell was but here is the surprise corsa b older less stars was more survivable

size does matter the bigger the area between you and the area of impact the better.

If I was over there a big 4x4 would be my choice even if it had less stars than a newer small car

MadYaker

Yeah, especially considering that so many other road users are in big 4x4s in that part of the world so you're already at a disadvantage if you're in something smaller. We can talk about NCAP safety ratings and crash tests till the cows come but really what you want is as much car as possible between you and whatever you hit.

CiniO

visual wrote: »

Was watching on fifth gear crash test with a smart cat into concrete barrier.

And that's the whole issue, that lot's of accidents are actually not into concrete barrier, but with another vehicle.

Crash tests are proceeded f.e. at 50km/h speed into concrete barrier.

But if you crash 1 tonne vehicle at 50km/h head on onto different 2tonne vehicle oncoming at 50km/h, then results will be similar to situation when heavier vehicle hit a concrete barrier at 33km/h, and lighter vehicle hit the concrete barrier at 66km/h.

keithclancy

CiniO wrote: »

And that's the whole issue, that lot's of accidents are actually not into concrete barrier, but with another vehicle.

Crash tests are proceeded f.e. at 50km/h speed into concrete barrier.

But if you crash 1 tonne vehicle at 50km/h head on onto different 2tonne vehicle oncoming at 50km/h, then results will be similar to situation when heavier vehicle hit a concrete barrier at 33km/h, and lighter vehicle hit the concrete barrier at 66km/h.

American thinking.

Ever heard of the Range Rover death wobble ?

CiniO

keithclancy wrote: »

American thinking.

Ever heard of the Range Rover death wobble ?

So whole thing is about having heavier car than others.
That way you can win.

Turbulent Bill

Worth remembering that the NCAP scores are only relative to cars in the same class at the time of testing. A 5-star supermini will be at the top of its class, but probably won't be near a 5-star executive barge (for example). Similarly, an older 5-star will not be as good as a new one.

mickdw

colm_mcm wrote: »

What would you have in mind for post 08 €8000?

Volvo s80 for example.
They are stupidly cheap in petrol form. Now I realise the op is talking about outside Ireland so prices very much different there but there are always out of favour cars that can do a job at a price in all territories.

BrianD3

Volvo XC90

-old enough to be available for smallish money
-high enough to take a hit from another SUV
-good performance in the EuroNCAP and IIHS moderate overlap tests
-good performance in side impact test (height helps)
-good performance in the IIHS small overlap test
-good roof strength in IIHS test which takes account of the weight of the vehicle. The heavier the vehicle, the stronger the roof needs to be to get a particular rating.
-the ADAC crash tested one into a Mk5 Golf, the XC90 did very well as you'd expect
-relatively heavy at about 2 tonnes
-handling is OK

It is difficult to find a vehicle with all of the above. The XC90 is an old design but it did very well in the small overlap test while several much newer SUVs did a lot worse.

Not something that you want to test but the height and crashworthiness of vehicle like this could well make a difference if hit by a bus or truck. Eg the Volvo S80/V70 is also a very highly rated vehicle but a truck that hits the bonnet of the XC90 might hit the windscreen of the S80 so its easy enough to imagine which is a better scenario.

visual

CiniO wrote: »

And that's the whole issue, that lot's of accidents are actually not into concrete barrier, but with another vehicle.

Crash tests are proceeded f.e. at 50km/h speed into concrete barrier.

But if you crash 1 tonne vehicle at 50km/h head on onto different 2tonne vehicle oncoming at 50km/h, then results will be similar to situation when heavier vehicle hit a concrete barrier at 33km/h, and lighter vehicle hit the concrete barrier at 66km/h.

That true for car of different weights
While NCAP tests are improving they only test at low speed and none test rear end crash.
Plenty of new MPVs especially 7 seaters where the rear most seats are fitted in the crumple zone and little hatchbacks can be just as bad.

Jude13

ianobrien wrote: »

If you are over in the Gulf, get a large off roader. Get either a full fat Land Cruiser, Toyota Prado or Nissan Patrol. Both are reliable and you can go dune bashing during the weekend. The brother uses large off-roaders for himself and the little 'uns and he is living in the UAE.

He had a Jeep Cheerokee for a while. He had to fit larger transmission oil coolers as the 'box would overheat and loads of little things went wrong (lock, switches etc). The engine never stopped or the a/c never failed though.....

If buying second hand over there check for chassis/chassis skid damage from off-roading, smooth shifting auto and also check that the tyres are less than 2 years old. Other than that normal checks apply.

Cheers for the reply, I think you missed the price limit though, 8k euro and other parameters. Landcruisers, Prados and nissans hold their value amazingly well. Also, when they are dirt cheap they are usually wrecked. It's not like the UAE where most 4x4s just see the motorway, most here are off-road at least once a month. Dont get me wrong a 4x4 would be nice but I already have one (LR3) and I can't afford another.

I am thinking an older 5 series of A6 or something then for the price range from the looks of a reply.

Jude13

In relation to the euro v middle east thing, it is a bit of an issue. Allot of locals import from the US and sell the cars on for cheap. All euro cars sold from dealers are "gulf spec". Monster radiator and AC. You just have to keep an eye out for it.

I bought a 91 SL (US import) when I got here years ago and I used to die in the summer driving the thing. Stuck to the leather seats with hot air blowing out of the AC, with topped up gas it was still luke warm.

kaahooters

If your looking for a safe car, the newest car you can find for your budget will be the safest.

Watch this for an example

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WJmiujKsU-E

MadYaker

Really, so a brand new smart car is safer than a ten year old land cruiser in a country where every second car is a big 4x4?

H3llR4iser

MadYaker wrote: »

European cars aren't designed for a European climate (whatever that is) all those oil rich desert countries are a huge market for new cars so id say BMW, Audi and Merc etc make damn sure their cars will perform there just fine and they do.

Besides, what's "European climate"? Is it the -20c of countryside Finland in January, or the +42c of Sicily in July?