Chinese automaker Brilliance has stated that its European distributor is confident it’ll be able to sell the BS6 sedan on the continent despite its pathetic showing in Germany’s ADAC crash tests. In case you missed it the first time around, the BS6 garnered a 1-star rating after collapsing in on itself during the frontal offset test and experiencing similarly poor results in the side-impact test as well. The car rapidly became the object of well-deserved ridicule as the story spread through the Internet. According to Reuters, Brilliance has accused the German media of “viciously playing up” the crash results, noting that it passed the basic safety test required for entry into the European market, as well as a voluntary NCAP test after that. How the BS6 passed any safety test at all is remarkable to us after seeing the ADAC videos. (Seriously, what does the basic safety test Brilliance mentions consist of? Throwing Nerf balls at the car? Subjecting it to a pillow fight?)
Follow the jump for more info, opinion and to view the crash test videos that supposedly won’t hurt the car’s saleability in the European market.
[Source: Reuters via Automotive News (sub req’d)]
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The Jeep Liberty offers a good compromise between road-worthiness and off-highway capability for a compact SUV. It’s available in two trim levels, Sport and Limited, each is offered with two-wheel drive or four-wheel drive systems. The standard engine in all Liberty models is a 210 hp 3.7-liter V6.
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Brilliance can say what it wants, of course, but the idea that the ADAC test won’t affect sales reeks of corporate denial. The fact of the matter is this: the ADAC regimen showed that the BS6 performs egregiously and dangerously poorly in the same crash tests many other cars are subjected to.
Brilliance says it now expects to score at least a 3-star rating within the next year, as it has entered into a collaborative relationship with ADAC to improve the car’s safety. Talk is cheap, though. Until that 3-star result actually happens, we see no reason why anyone in the European market would waste their money and risk their well-being by buying one of these cars. There are plenty of other choices in Europe, and just about every single one is going to be better than the Brilliance BS6 as currently constructed.