BYD's F5 Suri achieves 5 stars in China-NCAP, a new record for a Chinese brand

The BYD F5 Suri has again excelled with a five star performance rating in the all important C-NCAP crash test as per the third C-NCAP 2013 test results, published in September by the respected China Automotive Technology and Research Centre.

The F5 Suri has not only attained a new record score for a Chinese home-grown brand with 56.5 points in C-NCAP but also performed better than many international joint venture brands such as Ford’s Kuga and Volkswagen’s Santana.

In the four areas of the C-NCAP test, BYD F5 Suri achieved outstanding performance with both the body structure design and validity of its safety devices. According to the pictures shown of the crash tests, BYD F5 Suri maintained its basic shape during the collision process in entirety: the cockpit remained intact with no noticeable deformation to both the A and B pillars. At the moment of collision, all the airbags deployed as per programmed, and after collision, all four doors could be opened successfully. In addition, the crash test dummies in both the front and back row seats were still in the normal posture with the seat belts affixed and there was no detectable movement of the child safety seat.

Figures show that the BYD F5 Suri scored 15.59 points for the frontal impact against a rigid barrier,

15.1 points for the 40% overlap impact against deformable barrier in front, and 17.84 points for the side impact by mobile deformable barrier. Besides of that, thanks to excellent performance of the seatbelt pretensioners on the driver’s and front passenger’s seats, airbags and air curtain, the F5

Suri was awarded a bonus score of 4 points. Overall, the F5 Suri scored 56.5 points for the test.

Commenting on the 5-star rating of the F5 Suri, BYD indicated that the excellent performance was achieved thanks to the ample safety configuration designed-in, great body structural design and the high level of manufacturing and processing expertise.

The BYD F5 Suri was developed thanks to the process of “reverse thinking”, in other words, collecting critical information directly from customers to compute their needs and requirements and then designing and developing the car accordingly. Equipped with eight airbags and pre-crash seat belt tensioning, the F5 Suri provides both drivers and passengers with complete safety protection. Meanwhile, the F5 Suri is equipped with intelligent and all-dimensional safety protection devices, including six all-round parking sensors, Parking Assist System, TPMS(Tire Pressure Monitoring System), Bosch ABS(Anti-lock Braking System)+EBD(Electric Brakeforce Distribution), Bosch ESP(Electronic Stability Program), BOS(Brake Override System) and so on. All the smart intelligent safety protection devices helped to raise the score on active safety.

In addition, the F5 Suri is designed according to the C-NCAP 5-star safety standard, utilizing integral side frames with 3H high rigidity body structure, high strength anti-collision beams, with a high strength steel utilization rate of up to 50%, so passengers and drivers are protected from every direction. In particular, all the high-precision sheet metal press tools for the outer panels are designed and manufactured by Japan’s Ogiwara factories, famed for manufacturing precision metal dies.

BYD’s Shenzhen Laboratory has the ability to test according to various international test programs of vehicle safety performance; for example, frontal impact, overlap impact, side impact and rear impact of China standard, as well as the side column strike, rolling, roof static pressure of the European and American standards, and simultaneous car-to-car multi-angle collision. To allow the seat belt, airbags and other restraint systems to achieve ideal protection performance in a collision, the F5 Suri experienced multiple simulated collision tests and complete car collision tests. The BYD F5 Suri had already passed various rigorous tests, such as sustained long distance expressway driving, harsh environmental test, braking test, and etc.

C-NCAP is the most prestigious safety testing standard in the Chinese automotive market (and recognized by independent observers as now setting similar standards to the long-established Euro-NCAP). C-NCAP enables Chinese consumers to better understand the product’s function or performance before making the purchase, which could be an important factor to enable consumers to make the most suitable vehicle choice. By scoring 56.5 in the C-NCAP, the BYD F5 Suri is now recognized as the safest sedan from a Chinese-owned brand. This not only affirms the highest quality of the F5 Suri, but also indicates that BYD Auto is well on its way to becoming a world-class car brand as the company’s safety technology continues to rapidly develop.