Hello,

I will need a car and i am thinking in keeping my parent's Fiat Punto 1.2 HLX 80cv. Since that car is from 2000 how safe is it? It only has 1 airbag but it had a four star ncap rating. The biggest worry is the safety of the car. The car runs well and it's well maintained, but i dont know if it's worth getting a new car to get better safety

What you guys think?

Regards.

Hi Capio and welcome.
Four star is a good safety rating. Pre 09 ratings are not comparable with newer cars because the testing is different. We had old cars before children and got rid of them because the brakes, lights, seatbelts etc were not up to modern standards.
If a Punto is correctly maintained and the driver, the most important safety component, drives responsibly there is no particular reason to worry about the safety of the car.

I would definitely keep it. 1,2 16V is the best engine you can get in Punto and knowing the maintenance/repair history of the car is a big plus.

Generally when I buy a car i don't worry too much about vehicle safety ratings, since generally i don't buy a car with the intention of crashing it.
As Brendan pointed out if a vehicle is driven responsibly then there is no reason to worry.
That having been said the Punto Mk2 is not too bad on safety with 4 stars and when you say it only has 1 Airbag ? AFAIK the 188 has 2 , Drivers side and passenger side.

Safety is a pretty vague topic, as other have said the biggest real difference to how survivable an accident is generally driver input and vehicle maintenance. The ncap rating thing is a bit of a misnomer, as it only applies to vehicles in the same class; two super minis having a shunt the higher ncap rated car is favourite but get t-boned by a Volvo 960 7 up towing a twin axle caravan full of 2 weeks worth of camping paraphernalia and you've got no chance, there's just too much energy at play.


Read the road, slow down in poor weather and leave plenty of room to other cars, regardless what you drive you can give yourself options.

Not 960, but still:


Actually, I can only think of one car with 5 star NCAP rating with a price tag similar to Punto 188 - 2nd generation Megane. But it would be altogether different story.

I think the Fiat Punto 188 does have a crumple zone and yes only one airbag and no ABS or ESP. The car is well maintained and no rust. I want to keep the car because parts are very cheap and the car is easy to work on. What i am worried about is only one airbag. Maybe i should get a new car with 4 airbags like the renault clio of the same vintage?

I dont have much money so i cant buy expensive cars.

Cumps

I think there is a problem with new cars with five star ncap, abs. dstc, etc etc in that none of that stops people using the phone. In fact all the safety toys make them feel invincible. After alcohol or maybe moreso than alcohol, texting driving is a huge problem and no amount of airbags or abs will solve it.
If money is tight, save it for proper maintenance and good tyres on a car that you already know the history. Buying an unknown car could end up bleeding your money on problems which is probably why it was sold anyway.
Our car is 2001, one airbag, no ABS. All our boys learned to drive in it, still going at 225 000 km. No crashes.

yes i know, a lot of people drive the car just awful. My concern is people hitting me not I hitting a wall. The car just needs a fine tune up and new engine mounts and it will do a lot more km on it. maybe in 50kKm it will take a clutch and i am learning how to replace it myself.

I have a big problem with my punto because when my child sits in the back seat it seems she is enormously vulnerable to a crash from the rear. I think she would be better protected if the car had an extended boot.

She also sits on a plastic petrol tank with plastic hoses under the seat.

Unfortunately safety is a luxury feature and life is dangerous.

judderbar said:

I have a big problem with my punto because when my child sits in the back seat it seems she is enormously vulnerable to a crash from the rear. I think she would be better protected if the car had an extended boot.

She also sits on a plastic petrol tank with plastic hoses under the seat.

Unfortunately safety is a luxury feature and life is dangerous.

Click to expand...

You say it like its a bad thing, I'd rather have a plastic tank than a metal one in an accident; the tank is more likely to deform and stretch than split and spill its contents.


The video CZenda put up illustrates a point, 5 star Ncap does have its benefits, like being able to walk away from an offset impact with a Volvo but what it doesn't show is the impact on internal organs. Crumple zones are intended to absorb energy, like falling off a building into a crash bag. A rigid bar is equivalent to replacing the air filled crash bag with a yoga mat.


As soon as you introduce rigid definitions such as 'ability to absorb an offset impact at 30mph' you can then tune the parameters to achieve that result. The fact that the same impact at 50mph will liquefy the occupants is irrelevant because there isn't a category for that, it just gets chalked upto a "high speed impact, they didn't stand a chance".


For the sake of the OP, the Punto isn't an unsafe car, but if you equate airbags with safety and that's important to you then you'd be better off buying something with more airbags. Though as the shaved monkey Mr Clarkson once said, cars should have a 12" spike coming out of the wheel aimed directly at the drivers face, only then will cars become "safe".


Whatever you do DO NOT buy a Renault Modus after being inspired by the video clip with the Volvo, they are an absolute pig to work on. You cannot change the headlight bulb without removing the bumper, which is really a main dealer job.

judderbar said:

I have a big problem with my punto because when my child sits in the back seat it seems she is enormously vulnerable to a crash from the rear. I think she would be better protected if the car had an extended boot.

She also sits on a plastic petrol tank with plastic hoses under the seat.

Unfortunately safety is a luxury feature and life is dangerous.

Click to expand...

Your daughter is lucky to have a Dad that cares.
I had been driving for years before our first was born. I will never forget the drive home from the hospital. I was seeing all kinds of accident scenarios, potential brake failures, you name it I was full on hyper cautious and worried. Never felt so vulnerable in a car.
I think we misunderstand the safety contribution of airbags. Once a collision happens they are lifesavers. Unfortunately their very existence means we talk about quantity of bags which deflects discussion away from the far more important topic of driver behaviour and responsibility.