Hello,
Could you please let me know the NCAP ratings for a Corsa, Fiesta and Saxo from about 1998 to 2001, as we are looking to buy our son his first car. Also, any advice on car insurance for a 17 year old boy?
Thank you,
Jill
Hello Jill,
Well, I’m afraid none of those cars do very well at NCAP, the Corsa gets 2 stars, the Fiesta 3 and the Saxo 2. The uncomfortable truth is the NCAP is not an entirely reliable way of determining the ultimate crash performance of a car. They don’t test ‘compatibility’ – that is to say NCAP will test cars getting hit by similar cars, say an Audi A6 getting hit by a Mercedes E’Class, but not cars from different classes hitting each other, I.E a Corsa getting hit by an E’ Class. To put it another way – The current Corsa is a 5 star car – but if you get hit by a 2007 Nissan Navara (a 1 star car) you are still going to come off much, much worse, mainly due to the massive difference in size and weight. We would suggest you seek out a Fiat Stilo 1.2. They are available for the same price as the cars you mention but the tiny engine means insurance is cheap. You also get a larger, more modern and, crucially, much stronger car for the same money. The Stilo has a 4 star NCAP crash rating. It’s nice to drive, very economical and also reliable. Other alternatives might be 1.4 litre petrol versions of the Astra and Focus but the insurance will be more.
With regard to insurance, simply follow the 3 steps on our insurance page.
http://www.usedcarexpert.co.uk/page.aspx?numPage=37
This will give you access to over 80% of the market and give you some idea of what to expect.
Good luck with your searching for both the car and insurance!
Best wishes
Tom,