Nissan Tsuru discontinued; zero-rated NCAP safety rating

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Sentra#B11_.281982.E2.80.931986.29

Safety first folks! Nissan has decided to pull the plug on their Mexican-market Tsuru sedan (otherwise known as the B13 Sentra) by May 2017 due to its dismal zero-rated NCAP safety rating.

Global NCAP and Latin NCAP conducted a car-to-car crash test between the Tsuru and the five-star rated 2016 Nissan Versa (known as Almera in Malaysia). The result of the test revealed the squalid protection offered by the Tsuru.

A 50 percent overlap crash test revealed the Tsuru's main structure failed to absorb the impact, resulting in the driver's head hitting the steering wheel as shown in the video above. Global NCAP posited the driver of the Tsuru could easily suffer life-threatening injuries in an actual road accident. To compound matters, the Tsuru is not equipped with airbag.

Global NCAP secretary-general, David Ward, stressed on the importance of meeting minimum crash test standard to prevent sales of unsafe cars, "Our first ever car-to-car test clearly shows the importance of minimum crash test regulations. Mexico doesn't yet apply them and the US has had them for decades. The lack of standards can result in the sale of unsafe cars like the Nissan Tsuru".

Meanwhile, Latin NCAP reported on this April that the Tsuru was responsible for more than 4000 deaths on Mexican roads between 2007 and 2012.

Video Credit: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)