what is the safety record like for renault scenics etc?

[sassy]

We are looking to buy a scenic or nissan tino (or similar - taller than usual but usual length). Just interested in how safe they are 'cos there was some bad press about safety of proper people carriers a year or so ago. Any ideas?

We have a Scenic so always been interested in their car safety test results and they have always been one of the top ones in their class. Just found the AA results which should make interesting reading.

sassy, I saw a people carrier review that criticised some of the larger models - 7 seaters - b because the back seats are in the crumple zone. we've just bought a secondhand scenic and are v pleased with it.

Jaybee - thanks for AA site -really useful. They certainly look OK, we'll probably go ahead then!

Jeremy Clarkson and another bloke were on telly talking about these last night - they had some of the tested vehicles there (crashed into a concrete block at 40mph IIRC) and showed the diff between a 4, where the front doors still opened and closed because the cabin hadn't deformed, a 3 where the doors would move but the cabin had deformed a bit, and a 2* where the steering wheel was practically in the driver's seat. Scary!

However I don't know if they do the same thing at the other end of the car...

Thanks for bringing this thread to light guys. I'm buying a new small car soon and will certainly be interested to read the NCAP results for my group of chosen vehicles.

janh - top gear was what prompted me to ask the question today - terrifying, wasn't it!

Have just checked on AA site and our main car (Merc C-Class estate) has 5 stars !!!! HOORAY !!

ours is a good 4, but 1 for pedestrian injuries which makes me feel a bit guilty...

Well, it's their lookout isn't it pph ?! JOKE, before I get set upon !!

Pedestrians fare a little better with ours, they get 2*

our little car gets 4 and 2, so that makes me feel a bit better!

not that I ever use it!

Ours is a 5* car with 94.0% for front impact and 100.0% for side. Wahay!

Only 2 for pedestrians though.

Blimey, that's good Soupie. What have you got ?

now that's just showing off!

what is it?

hi, sassy, yes, it was terrifying! I loved the way JC went around asking people what they'd got - "well you'd better be very careful on your way home tonight" etc!

And the one with the Bentley Continental!!! He was just taking the p*ss - as JC said, it would crush the block and keep going.

We have 2 cars and they're both only 3/2

Jaybee, thanks for posting the link!

she's being very quiet.
must be a bentley continental

You must be right pph

Sassy we have had a scenic and now have a citroen picasso. Looking at that AA thing they score the same, 4 and 2. However they are quite different. The Picasso is larger in the back, we have 2 baby seats and you can sit an adult in comfort as well, in the scenic only a small adult/kid would fit with both seats. The picasso has the gear stick coming out of the dash, which is odd to start with, but it menas thereis more room between the front seats and more leg roomin the centre at the back. You can stash your handbag between the seats without getting in the way of the gears/handbrake. Our scenic had a little cool box in the front, which was great for storing all teh junk, the picasso doesn't(!) They both have fully adjustable/removeable seats in the back.
To be honest however I think I prefered the scenic in some ways, it just seemed slightly 'heavier' and therefore more solid. This is subjective and purely because the picasso is so light to drive. It does have very bad blind spots, so parking can be a pain, I was much better in teh scenic!

So don't know if that has helped, the scenic was a company car, and we couldn't find a cheap enough 2nd hand one, the picasso loses value quicker. We got a 13 month old deisel for about £3k less than new (it had very high milage over 30,000 in a year!) Oh do get a deisel they are soooooooo much bettre on fuel economy, we do 550 to the tank for around town driving, over 600 if we drive carefully on long distances!!

2001 Renault Laguna. Just like a Bentley convertible except it's not a Bentley and it's not a convertible.

Soupie!

Actually, it was the 5* safety rating that swung it for us when we were choosing our new car. I didn't realise quite how well it had performed until I saw that AA site.

I say it was the safety rating but the "Gadget Boy" key card helped

Our Audi cabriolet isn't there so I don't know. Looked at the A4 which is 4*, as are most of Audi's newer models so hopefully it is up there. Not so good for pedestrians though.

The Smart we have is a 3/2 which isn't bad really for such a tiny car. We are having to let it go next month anyway.

Crunchie, thanks so much for your post, I've been wondering about the Scenic/Picasso comparison, but if Scenics are easier to park, that settles it!!