- The Toyota Starlet just got a zero star rating in Global NCAP test.
- It’s a rebadged Suzuki Baleno exported from India to South Africa.
- The updated model comes with six airbags to fix safety concerns.
Toyota’s reputation for safety took a hit in Johannesburg this month. The Toyota Starlet, one of the best-selling hatchbacks in South Africa, walked away from Global NCAP’s latest round of testing with zero stars for adult occupant protection, proving the dangers of rebadging.
The car on the rig was the outgoing entry-level Starlet, built in India as a near-identical twin to the Suzuki Baleno. The differences amount to restyled bumpers, a reshaped tailgate, and a different engine catalogue. Underneath, it is the same car wearing a different badge.
Despite being equipped with electronic stability control (ESC) and dual front airbags as standard, the Starlet demonstrated severe structural vulnerabilities under impact. According to Global NCAP, both the footwell area and the overall bodyshell integrity proved to be unstable, and “not capable of withstanding further loadings”.
The side-impact barrier test was a disaster, with the lack of side airbags leading to poor head and chest protection and adequate abdomen protection. The results were so bad that Global NCAP skipped the side pole impact test entirely.
While the model got zero points in adult protection, it managed to get 29.33 points in child protection leading to a three-star rating. Still, the head of the three-year-old dummy made contact with the interior trim during the frontal crash test, and was exposed to impact in the side collision.
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Richard Woods, Chief Executive Officer of Global NCAP, said: “This is a shocking zero star result from Toyota. The Starlet, one of the most popular cars sold in South Africa, had an unstable bodyshell, as well as poor head and chest protection which are both a cause for serious concern.”
Toyota Argues the Test Is Already Outdated
Toyota South Africa is not letting the result stand unchallenged. The company told Citizen that the tested vehicle is “an obsolete model that is not representative of the Starlet currently available in the South African market.” Which is true, as far as it goes, though it does raise the question of how many of those obsolete models are still on the road.
The current Starlet ships with side, head, and curtain airbags as standard. Global NCAP has already bought one anonymously and plans to retest. Until those numbers land, the zero-star result is the one on the books.
