Car Safety

[corkman]

Hi All,

So I am in the market for a car again..... safety is very (if not top) of my agenda. Choices are:

Honda Accord 2.4EL

Honda CRV 2.4EL

Toyota Fortuner 3.0D navi

At the moment, I am thinking that the Honda Accord 2.4EL is about the safest in my budget range. Its got airbags all round including curtain (from and rear), all the electronic aids (stability control, ABS, EBD, BA, etc.) and it does well in EuroNCAP type tests. In itself, it is quite a big car, which is always going to help. Good brakes etc. too. In my opinion, the only possible draw back is that it is still a saloon car so your head and chest is perfectly level with SUV's, pick-ups, etc...... which can never be good for sideinpacts etc...... those airbags won't stop 2 tonnes of Hi-Lux......

So, the others that I am considering are the Honda CRV 2.4EL and the Toyota Fortuner. Generally, if there were not so many SUV and pick ups on the road, I would prefer a saloon as it is more stable, less prone to roll, stops better, etc. So, perhaps the safety that is perceived from being up high is offset against that....... I dunno. The CRV and Fortuner are also physically bigger, but again that safety is perhaps offset by longer stopping distances and less manouverability (spelling?). But neither comes with curtain air bags (the CRV gets side ones though). From what I can gather, the Fortuner is probably the better of the two for safety - despite lacking the side bags, because it is physically bigger and comes with VSC. Better to avoid the accident in the first instances, right?!?!?!?

So, my question is, between these 3 cars, all things considered which do you think (know) to be the safest.

FYI - I drive mainly in bangkok, but I go up the boonies once in a while, and also drive to Hua Hin and Pattaya quite regularly too.

Thoughts people?

Of course I am open to suggestion for alternatives too

[ilyelol]

you might just want to learn to look around and avoid people driving at 160km/h and drive far away from those crazy 60km/h zig-zagers

Hard to get an accident if you're very carefull, then you can just buy the car you really want.

[corkman]

you might just want to learn to look around and avoid people driving at 160km/h and drive far away from those crazy 60km/h zig-zagers

Hard to get an accident if you're very carefull, then you can just buy the car you really want.

Thanks for the tip...... "caution is the older brother to wisdom" and all that malarky....... but none the less, there is always the time when some zig-zagger causes an accident 3 lanes away and suddenly your involved in a pile up...... prats at the lights..... waffle waffle waffle....... do you wear your seat belt? If so, you share the same concerns I do, but are perhaps less minful (or paranoid) about it.......

[Velocette]

Whatever happened to ' Hall's Pictorial Weekly ' ? . . . . .I really miss hearing those posh Corkonians talking about 'Culture' and how they were soo much more sophisticated than the Jackeens in the 'Other' capital city

Anyway, hozabout a nice jaunting cart

[juehoe]

I bought the Mazda 3 with the 2 litre engine, because of the 6 airbags - a safety feature which is very seldom in Thailand.

[MikeyIdea]

Your safest selection is what you do while you drive. Always stay calm and don't get irritated and aggitated, drive passively - doesn't help if it was their fault if you're in a wheel chair sort of, always keep background concentration up - you never know when you're going to meet a drunk policeman on the wrong side of the road in Thailand. I drive a whole lot in Thailand and I feel very safe when I drive but I still get more tired than I would in Europe, it will never go away - bankground concentration must be on more here. Keep longer distance to cars, most people drive to close to other cars in Europe too, bad idea.

Any of those cars will do, weight matters more than what most people think, I personally think that sitting higher up gives a better overview and works well as a preventive measure, I'd go for that. Too bad I dislike the Fortuner as a Bangkok car, horrible when doing u-turns, in small sois etc. But then, selfish drivers who don't care that they physically can't keep the car in their lane will probably post here ensuring us that it's not a problem at all...

Good Luck

[katabeachbum]

crashing into a concrete wall at 65 kmh, Accord will probably protect its occupants best.

In LOS traffic consist of more than 60% of vehicles being pickups and trucks at +2 ton. Fortuner is most likely to let its occupants out alive

CRV is based on Civic, and really doesnt compete with the 2 above, neither on handling (no VSC and not fulltime 4x4) or crash safety

For CRV and Fortuner there is a major drawback. Cargo come flying to occupants during crash. Its essential to use a cargo net to keep small objects on the cargo floor, and strap all luggage to prevent it moving

[MikeyIdea]

crashing into a concrete wall at 65 kmh, Accord will probably protect its occupants best.

In LOS traffic consist of more than 60% of vehicles being pickups and trucks at +2 ton. Fortuner is most likely to let its occupants out alive

CRV is based on Civic, and really doesnt compete with the 2 above, neither on handling (no VSC and not fulltime 4x4) or crash safety

For CRV and Fortuner there is a major drawback. Cargo come flying to occupants during crash. Its essential to use a cargo net to keep small objects on the cargo floor, and strap all luggage to prevent it moving

Excellent post, every point very good and valid

[sillyman99]

[jcon]

I've suggested this previously:

Volvo XC90 (used) - you can pick one up for under 2 million - maybe even down towards the 1.5 million range if older and higher mileage. Technology/safety leaps and bounds above the vehicles mentioned. Some may complain about servicing costs but people tend to not think of such costs when faced with a major collision scenario....

If I weren't hel_l-bent on bending over for Land Rover, I'd be driving an XC90 or a Harrier

Just my 2 cents on safety.

[corkman]

I've suggested this previously:

Volvo XC90 (used) - you can pick one up for under 2 million - maybe even down towards the 1.5 million range if older and higher mileage. Technology/safety leaps and bounds above the vehicles mentioned. Some may complain about servicing costs but people tend to not think of such costs when faced with a major collision scenario....

If I weren't hel_l-bent on bending over for Land Rover, I'd be driving an XC90 or a Harrier

Just my 2 cents on safety.

Thanks for all your input.

So based on katabeachbum's advice (which makes sense and I agree with) the CRV is out..... letting the pro's and con's of the Fortuner and Accord to ponder. At this stage, I am not concerned with practical things like "forutner is bigger with 7 seats" an "accord is more comfortable"...... it really comes down to weighing up which crash scenario is more likely, and which will perform better in that scenario...... I'm starting to think fortuner based on size ad weight...... I drive reasonably carefully, I have never had an accident, and I am good at seeing and avoiding potential situations........

In the meantime I am very interested in the XC90 or Harrier idea....... first the former...... everyone I have ever spoken to, farang and Thai alike, tell me there is a very high liklihood that second hand cars have been crash damaged....... thoughts?

Harrier ...... where would I get one, and what kind of price are they?

Many thanks again to everyone.

[jcon]

I've suggested this previously:

Volvo XC90 (used) - you can pick one up for under 2 million - maybe even down towards the 1.5 million range if older and higher mileage. Technology/safety leaps and bounds above the vehicles mentioned. Some may complain about servicing costs but people tend to not think of such costs when faced with a major collision scenario....

If I weren't hel_l-bent on bending over for Land Rover, I'd be driving an XC90 or a Harrier

Just my 2 cents on safety.

Thanks for all your input.

So based on katabeachbum's advice (which makes sense and I agree with) the CRV is out..... letting the pro's and con's of the Fortuner and Accord to ponder. At this stage, I am not concerned with practical things like "forutner is bigger with 7 seats" an "accord is more comfortable"...... it really comes down to weighing up which crash scenario is more likely, and which will perform better in that scenario...... I'm starting to think fortuner based on size ad weight...... I drive reasonably carefully, I have never had an accident, and I am good at seeing and avoiding potential situations........

In the meantime I am very interested in the XC90 or Harrier idea....... first the former...... everyone I have ever spoken to, farang and Thai alike, tell me there is a very high liklihood that second hand cars have been crash damaged....... thoughts?

Harrier ...... where would I get one, and what kind of price are they?

Many thanks again to everyone.

I wouldn't buy a CRV based on the brake-feeling alone. They are ridiculous (IMO - no sensitivity). Some owners here may disagree. To that I say "horses for courses."

Actually, I find that even the new Harriers/RX350 have "crazy brakes." Admittedly, you get used to them after the first few times when you "tap" the brakes and your seat belt is already locking up and your passenger says, "What happened??" "Err... I thought I just tapped the brakes....."

Also, as good as any new car may look on the outside, one easy giveaway is a look at the undercarriage (Ford Escape comes to mind - or a Yaris, or a Jazz, etc....driveshafts???? More like drive chop-sticks... compare to an Audi/SAAB/Volvo/BMW/Merc from the 90s - no comparison). You get to see a lot of undercarriages when you're going up parking ramps and the vehicle in front of you reaches the top... scary.

Take a look at the underside of an XC90 vs a CRV. You'll get the picture.

Regarding the idea that all 2nd hand cars are crashed: well every single car on the road right now is considered 2nd hand - are they all crashed? Are all of the members of this forum driving crashed cars if they were to sell them right now?

Sure, some vehicles have been smashed to oblivion and put back together - this is where it helps to know a vehicle's history. The best way is to become a member in the car clubs (the rarer the car, the tighter the club tends to be - and the guys in the club will know which ones are good and which ones are bad). Volvo, Audi, SAAB, Land Rover - these are brands which have a small but loyal following - and it reflects in their respective clubs. Each will most likely have one or two specialists that take care of all of the best examples, and the owners pay a premium for that - but in this case, you get what you pay for. Get to know who the specialist is, and then you can start to find out which cars have the best histories. Not everybody in Thailand is here to rip you off.

It takes time to find the best example of whatever vehicle you want. Finding them from friends of friends is a good way. That way, you know who the person is, what they do, how they live, how they take care of their cars, etc. etc. I would not buy from a used car dealer.

The best vehicles change hands very quickly and in cash - amongst people who either know each other or are recommended by someone else ''in the club.'' That is a fact.

There are many Harriers around since many people picked up the newer version (which came with a big fat price increase also). I'd say under 2 million for a good 2nd hand Harrier (I'd go for the Air-S). And with the old Harrier you can at least open your dam_n moonroof (the RX350 "panorama" roof is ridiculous IMO - great, you have a giant glass window - but you can't open it?????? wth). Many families kept the old Harrier when they bought the new one because it was just flat out a nice reliable vehicle - if you can get your hands on one of those types then you're a step ahead. Good luck finding one without a cracked dashboard

Personally, I'd go with the XC90 over the Harrier, as the Harrier is pretty much known (in BKK, at least) as a chick car for people with money. The XC90 has more character, IMO. I like vehicles with character. Usually in Thailand that basically means ''vehicles that nobody buys because they think maintenance is too expensive." If it weren't Thailand then you could more easily find cars with true character. So be it. Still, the XC90 is a nice solid vehicle with a lot of safety tech engineered into it as that is Volvo's motivation - I wouldn't feel unsafe in any scenario in an XC90.

[JAS21]

everyone I have ever spoken to, farang and Thai alike, tell me there is a very high liklihood that second hand cars have been crash damaged....... thoughts?

Reply..Yes, Quite a lot....Assuming that you don't know the history, the the main dealer is best, at least they will give you a NO MAJOR ACCIDENT DAMAGE guarantee, and should have its history. As I said my wife scraped my 520d along a taxi....you can't tell...modern paints match very well and are applied to original spec, well they are at BMW main dealers. If the main dealer sold the car, odds on they will have serviced/repaired the car. You could check the cars insurance to confirm it covers main dealer repairs..if not then give it a miss as it could have been repaired anywhere.

[katabeachbum]

everyone I have ever spoken to, farang and Thai alike, tell me there is a very high liklihood that second hand cars have been crash damaged....... thoughts?

Reply..Yes, Quite a lot....Assuming that you don't know the history, the the main dealer is best, at least they will give you a NO MAJOR ACCIDENT DAMAGE guarantee, and should have its history. As I said my wife scraped my 520d along a taxi....you can't tell...modern paints match very well and are applied to original spec, well they are at BMW main dealers. If the main dealer sold the car, odds on they will have serviced/repaired the car. You could check the cars insurance to confirm it covers main dealer repairs..if not then give it a miss as it could have been repaired anywhere.

check insurance history and No Claim Bonus (which follows car not owner). any claims, check the amount of claim and get an indication of repair

[Velocette]

everyone I have ever spoken to, farang and Thai alike, tell me there is a very high liklihood that second hand cars have been crash damaged....... thoughts?

Reply..Yes, Quite a lot....Assuming that you don't know the history, the the main dealer is best, at least they will give you a NO MAJOR ACCIDENT DAMAGE guarantee, and should have its history. As I said my wife scraped my 520d along a taxi....you can't tell...modern paints match very well and are applied to original spec, well they are at BMW main dealers. If the main dealer sold the car, odds on they will have serviced/repaired the car. You could check the cars insurance to confirm it covers main dealer repairs..if not then give it a miss as it could have been repaired anywhere.

check insurance history and No Claim Bonus (which follows car not owner). any claims, check the amount of claim and get an indication of repair

Very, very useful info, as a newbie I wasn't aware that the insurance follows the car, I'm looking to buy used myself so will get 'her indoors' to investigate any claims. Many thanks for marking my card

[UtopiaFlorida]

One car safety feature which a lot of people might almost forget regardless of the car brand is the tyre pressure and possible tyre explosion. As Thailand's roads are filled

with trash (nails, wood .. you name it...) it is just a matter of time until you might hit such a situation. In addition, due to the extreme heat and tropical weather the tyre pressure

is going down like crazy. There are some TPMS brands here on the market (one from Germany - sorry can name it, but goggle it and you will find it) for around 6000 Baht which

might be worth an investment as a after market car safety feature.

That's my little input about car safety here in Thailand

[Kwasaki]

you might just want to learn to look around and avoid people driving at 160km/h and drive far away from those crazy 60km/h zig-zagers

Hard to get an accident if you're very carefull, then you can just buy the car you really want.

l agree with ' ilyelol ' unless your looking to put yourself in harms way.

If your so concern with safety a new Song Tell bus would be as hard as a tank and there is always a Volvo coach. Speed is what mostly kills.

Edited October 17, 2010 by Kwasaki