A Beetle you can't crush

Daily Express (UK) ; March 7, 2002

It started life as a humble run-around to serve the post-war German population. But yesterday, the New Beetle sat proudly in pole position as the safest small car on British roads.

Investigators from Which? ; the monthly magazine of the Consumers Association ; gave it top marks for features that will provide motorists with the best protection in a crash. They cited features such as foam in doors, seat-mounted airbags and extra-strong rear side panels.

In the past few years, safety features have become increasingly important to car buyers.

The Which? team gave a point for every safety device. They found that the New Beetle, and another Volkswagen, the Bora, were both better protected than small cars made by Ford, Honda and Peugeot.

Out of 24 small cars tested, the VWs scored 10.5 points for their new safety features. Bottom of the cars tested were the Suzuki Baleno and Proton Wira which were given jut 6.5 points because they offered far fewer and less robust safety devices.

Volkswagen UK said: ¿We are delighted the Beetle has done so well. Our primary hope is to create a safe car for people to drive, so this is great news.

In a further success for the VW Group, the top rated car in the super-mini category was the Skoda Fabia, which is based on the new VW Polo platform.

The watchdogs assessed the safety features of a total of 85 models in all categories to help motorists choose the best models to protect their families in a crash.