With car security, new is not always better

NEW cars are not always more secure than older models, according to the latest tests.

The Consumers Association in Britain found three new cars offered less protection than other, older models in the same class.

The cars were the Kia Rio, the Fiat Doblo and the Hyundai Matrix multi-purpose vehicle. The Kia Rio got just one point on a scale of 10 for anti-theft protection. Testers were able to get into the boot in 10 seconds and into the main part of the car within 30 seconds, according to the theft survey for consumer magazine Which?

The Consumers Association (CA) said much publicity was now being given to the issue of anti-theft devices in cars but “some manufacturers aren’t paying enough attention. Car manufacturers should know by now what makes a car vulnerable and how to minimise security threats.”

However, the association testers found the luxury Lexus LS 430 withstood break-in attempts “better than any car we’ve ever tested”. It had laminated glass which is more expensive but took the testers five times as long to break compared to normal glass.

The results of the testing are similar to a three-year-old study by the motoring magazine Auto Express. When it employed a lock expert to break into cars, it found the price paid for a car did not always reflect its security features. A humble Skoda model took five minutes to break into while a Mercedes car costing five times as much took just three seconds.

Anti-theft technology is also making cars safer. An Australian company has developed a system called DataDot, which involves spraying 10,000 tiny etchings of a vehicle's identification number over the chassis and parts in iridescent paint. It has been credited as one of the reasons for an 18% decline in car thefts in Australia last year.

Garda statistics show vehicle theft here is decreasing. Gardaí make the distinction between the larceny of a car, when the criminal’s intention is to steal it permanently and cases where a car is stolen then abandoned. There were 177 cases of vehicle larceny in 2001. Around 14,500 vehicle were stolen then abandoned, 72% of these vehicles were recovered.