Toyota comes back to five stars and Volkswagen adds three and five star models

The New Car Assessment Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean, Latin NCAP, fifth publication for 2022 shows encouraging five star results for the Toyota Corolla and the Volkswagen New Virtus and three stars for the Volkswagen New Polo.

The Toyota Corolla, produced in Brazil, achieved five stars. The Corolla, that offers 7 airbags and Electronic Stability Control (ESC) as standard since 2017, achieved 83.31% in Adult Occupant, 91.84% in Child Occupant, 59,72 % in Pedestrian Protection and Vulnerable Road Users, and 81.57% in Safety Assist. The model was tested for the fifth time as voluntary decision of the manufacturer and the result is valid for all production plants for Latin America.

The current Corolla was assessed in 2019 by Latin NCAP achieving five stars for adult and child occupant protection under the previous protocol. At that time driving assistance technologies, as well as pedestrian protection were assessed, targeting the evaluation of the Corolla under updated and more demanding protocols. The car was tested in frontal impact, side impact, side pole impact, whiplash, pedestrian protection, Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) city and interurban, Lane Support Systems (LDW, LKA and RED) and ESC.

The New Volkswagen Polo produced in Brazil, achieved three stars. The Polo with 4 airbags (2 frontal and 2 side head/body) and ESC as standard, achieved 73,21% in Adult Occupant, 71,33% in Child Occupant, 51,41% in Pedestrian Protection and Vulnerable Road Users and 58,14% in Safety Assist. The car was tested in frontal impact, side impact, side pole impact, whiplash, pedestrian protection, and ESC. The lack of availability of ADAS technologies and curtain airbags primarily limited the model from obtaining a better rating. The model was tested as voluntary decision of the manufacturer.

The Volkswagen New Virtus, produced in India, achieved five stars. The New Virtus with 6 airbags and ESC as standard achieved 92,35% in Adult Occupant, 91,84% in Child Occupant, 53,09% in Pedestrian Protection and Vulnerable Road Users and 84,98% in Safety Assist. The car was tested in frontal impact, side impact, side pole impact, whiplash, pedestrian protection, Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) city and interurban and ESC. The model was tested as a voluntary decision of the manufacturer.

Latin NCAP tests the most basic passive safety specification of the models and strongly recommends consumers to buy versions equipped with tested and well performing ADAS technologies.

Alejandro Furas, Secretary General of Latin NCAP said:

“Toyota and Volkswagen show once again their commitment towards safer vehicles in the region. Although the three star performance of the New Polo means it is a car with a reasonable safety level, Latin NCAP believes that such a popular model should aim for five stars, especially by replacing the side head-thorax airbags for curtain airbags and side body airbags and adding ADAS Technologies. Latin NCAP encourages both car manufacturers as well as all other manufacturers to bring the most popular models in to the five star range. Vehicle safety labelling including Latin NCAP star rating is the most efficient tool to bring safer cars to the region earlier than regulations and as a result of a voluntary decision of the car manufacturers. Other NCAP programmes across the world have the involvement and support of the relevant governments, however this is not the case of Latin NCAP ”.

Stephan Brodziak, Latin NCAP Chairman said:

“We are pleased that there are two more Latin NCAP five star models in the Latin American and Caribbean markets: the Toyota Corolla and the Volkswagen New Virtus. This sets an example for those manufacturers that continue to sell us safety as a luxury, regardless of the impact this has on the lives of individuals, families, and the economy of the countries in our region. As for the Volkswagen New Polo, although it obtained a three star rating, and because it is a car with high market penetration in our countries, it presents areas of opportunity to improve its safety performance, particularly in terms of airbags and driving assistance technologies, such as Autonomous Emergency Braking. In order to help improve vehicle safety in the region we need a labelling programme that includes Latin NCAP star ratings. The role of the NCAP Programmes has been key to improve vehicle safety in different markets, which is why the United Nations supports these initiatives. It is time that Latin America and the Caribbean governments also recognise Latin NCAP crucial role as a catalyst for consumer protection”.

Toyota Corolla (7 airbags)

The frontal impact showed marginal to good protection for the adults. The structure was rated as stable and the footwell area was rated as unstable. Side impact showed good protection and side pole impact showed marginal to good protection. Whiplash protection was marginal. Child Occupant showed full protection in the dynamic tests and full score in Child Restraint Systems (CRS) installation. Pedestrian Protection showed good head protection in most areas with some poor protection areas and marginal and adequate protection towards the edges of the hood, while lower and upper legs showed good protection. The car offers AEB for Vulnerable Road Users (VRU) for the Latin America market but as it does not meet Latin NCAP availability requirements, it was not assessed. The car offers standard Seat Belt Reminder (SBR) in front and rear seat rows. The car does not offer standard speed limitation assistance. The Corolla offers Lane Support System (LSS) and Road Edge Detection (RED) that shows an acceptable performance according to Latin NCAP requirements. AEB city and intercity showed good performance and meet Latin NCAP availability requirements. The standard ESC showed good performance and reached 90 km/h and 75 km/h maximum speed in the ADAC and Moose test respectively.

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Volkswagen New Polo (4 airbags)

In the frontal impact the New Polo showed good protection for the adults ‘head chest and neck. The structure and footwell was rated as stable. Side and side pole impact showed adequate to good protection. Whiplash protection was good. Child Occupant showed full protection in the dynamic tests, CRS installation showed low score as airbag disabling switch is not standard. Pedestrian Protection showed good to adequate head protection in most areas with some poor protection areas for the upper legs while lower legs showed good protection. The car does not offer AEB VRU which is very desirable and needed for our region. The car offers standard SBR in front and rear seat row. The car does not offer standard speed limitation assistance and does not offer even as optional AEB, Blind Spot Detection (BSD) and LSS. The standard ESC showed good performance and reached 95 km/h and 70 km/h maximum speed in the ADAC and Moose test respectively.

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Watch the crash test video
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Volkswagen New Virtus (6 airbags)

In the frontal impact the New Virtus showed adequate to good protection for the adults. The structure and footwell area were rated as stable. Side impact showed adequate to good protection and side pole impact showed marginal in the chest to good protection in rest of the body regions. Whiplash protection was good. Child Occupant showed full protection in the dynamic tests and full score in CRS installation. Pedestrian Protection showed adequate to good head protection in most areas with some poor protection areas, lower leg showed good protection and upper legs showed weak protection. The car offers AEB VRU for some Latin America markets but not meeting Latin NCAP fitment requirements, wider availability of this technology would increase the pedestrian protection. The car offers standard SBR in front and rear seat row. The car offers standard speed limitation assistance. The New Virtus does not offer LSS and RED. AEB city and intercity showed good performance and meet Latin NCAP availability requirements. The standard ESC showed good performance and reached 95 km/h and 70 km/h maximum speed in the ADAC and Moose test respectively.

Read the full crash test report
Watch the crash test video
Download crash test images

About Latin NCAP

The Latin New Car Assessment Programme (Latin NCAP) was launched in 2010 to develop a regional system of independent crashworthiness and safety rating across Latin America and Caribbean (LAC). Latin NCAP replicates similar consumer testing programmes developed over the last thirty years in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, and which have proved to be very effective in improving the safety of motor vehicles. Since 2010 Latin NCAP has published the results of more than 150 models, all results available at www.latinncap.com/results.

Latin NCAP acknowledges the support received by the Global New Car Assessment Programme (Global NCAP), International Consumer Research and Testing (ICRT), FIA Foundation, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Road Safety Initiative. Latin NCAP is an Associate member of Global NCAP and supports the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety and the Stop the Crash Partnership.

More info: www.latinncap.com