[reddevilgautam]

Hey guys - so just a bit of background. I recently shifted to Dubai and now looking to buy a new car here. My budget is upto INR 25 lacs and given the speeds here in Dubai, I am basically looking for the safest car possible in that range. Below is my shortlist -

1) Elantra - it may not be the safest car in this list but I have included it as its incredible value of money. At INR 16 lacs for the top model, and the best features among the list here, I was very much inclined to go for the Elantra. Its a great looking car as well. It's been rates 5 star by Nhtsa and was also the North American car of the year 2021, however I am still not convinced it's the safest car here on the list. This choice will save me a lot of dough though.

2) Superb Ambition variant - I have always wanted to own the Superb but it's always been very expensive in India. The superb Ambition is approx INR 22.5 lacs here and has 6 airbags. The next variant is L&K which is almost 5.5 lacs more expensive and just adds some gimmicks like sunroof, leather seats etc which aren't that important to me. Superb's resale value will be the lowest among the list here as not many people here buy Skoda. But it's still an impressive car with huge space although little dated interiors. I used to drive an Octavia in India and hence love the brand myself.

3) Audi A3 advanced variant - it's approx 28.5 lacs which is beyond my budget but I can stretch a little bit especially if it's the safest of the lot. I am going to be mostly alone while driving it except on that occasional weekend trip to the mall when my son is going to sit in the back and feel cramped. Its the smallest of the lot but still an impressive car especially the new interiors. Plus the pleasure and ego boost of owning a car from the Audi stable. Will be my first one.

Will Superb and Audi definitely be safer than Elantra?
Would be great to hear everyone's thoughts on the above. Thanks in advance for your advice.

[DicKy]

Any reason for shortlisting these three vehicles? Like are these the options for a company car lease?

Since you are an Octavia owner and like the Superb, this would be a good opportunity to buy one, considering the cheap prices there. But as you had already mentioned, resale value is pathetic and see if you could get a nice used deal. Also, there is a reason why these suffer from bad resale in the GCC nations.

My humble opinion. Buy a top end version of the Camry. And if I may add to your confusion, sedans may make you feel vulnerable in Dubai traffic. Maybe look at some crossovers too.

[Turbohead]

I think our members will be able to give you a more guided decision if you can post your requirements in detail.

From whatever I have read so far, I feel safety is your one and only priority. Any chance you can stick a used/new Volvo into your budget?

[reddevilgautam]

Originally Posted by DicKy

Any reason for shortlisting these three vehicles? Like are these the options for a company car lease?

It's difficult to justify the shortlist other than that these cars were the ones I would love and aspire to own. Elantra because of its new design, interiors and VFM, Superb because of its size, build quality and brand (in India) and A3 because of the new interiors and ego boost. I did look at Camry but didn't like the interiors too much. Its not a very aspirational car, although it would be the cheapest to maintain with the highest resale value. Will have another look.

Originally Posted by Turbohead

From whatever I have read so far, I feel safety is your one and only priority. Any chance you can stick a used/new Volvo into your budget?

Yes safety is my top most priority. If it has nice interiors and is fun to drive, then it's a plus. Would have loved to buy an S60 but don't really want to be going for a used car and a new one is way beyond my budget.

[androdev]

Get yourself a red A3, it will go well with your forum handle reddevilgautam :-)

Jokes apart, I think all cars in your budget range would be fairly safe. Superb and A3 will have a tank-link build that might help in feeling more safe and comfortable at high speeds. The choice depends on your budget and preference for reliability vs aspirational aspects. Between Superb vs A3, go the full distance and buy A3. Being compact, it will feel sporty and classy.

[AJ56]

Assuming all cars are NCAP 5 stars, the heavier vehicle will be the safest no contest. As the stars only hold against their own weight class. Superb is 1560 kg kerb and A3 is 1295 kg, with Elantra coming in at 1408 kg. The Superb will be the safest of the 3 from a crash survivability view. A difference of 250 kg+ is not trivial. You can look up Smart car vs larger merc C and S class crash tests to see the same point in action. Both have perfect crash ratings individually but the Smart car occupants fared much worse as they were subjected to much higher g forces during impact.

[Amey Kulkarni]

Welcome to Dubai Habibi! Honestly, if safety is to be kept in mind, you shouldn't be even looking at a low GC car. Dubai traffic is majorly dominated by SUVs and Pick-ups.

If you can move away from Sedans, there's nothing like owning hot hatches which'll give you the pleasure of driving or the mid size SUVs for comfort and safety viz - Golf GTI, A35, Montero, Fortuner, Tiguan, Teramont etc.

Keep in mind that cars here depreciate faster than rust. Buy Nice or Buy Twice.

The suggestion by DicKy is appropriate here if you're only targeting a Sedan. Visit the Al Futtaim showroom and TD the car especially the 3.5L V6. It has glorious interiors as well. The only point that plays against Camry is that its a taxi all across Dubai.

Don't forget to TD all the cars you look at and then shortlist.

All the best for the nerve-racking journey and PM me if you need any help.

Cheers,
Amey

[rkv_2401]

Originally Posted by AJ56

Assuming all cars are NCAP 5 stars, the heavier vehicle will be the safest no contest. As the stars only hold against their own weight class. Superb is 1560 kg kerb and A3 is 1295 kg, with Elantra coming in at 1408 kg. The Superb will be the safest of the 3 from a crash survivability view. A difference of 250 kg+ is not trivial. You can look up Smart car vs larger merc C and S class crash tests to see the same point in action. Both have perfect crash ratings individually but the Smart car occupants fared much worse as they were subjected to much higher g forces during impact.

Agreed, and larger cars also have larger crumple zones. A 4.9m long Superb has a larger (and maybe thicker?) area to dissipate the force of a frontal or rear-end crash than the 4.6m long Elantra and the 4.4m long Audi A3. This is also illustrated in the crash tests that AJ56 mentioned.

I was surprised to see how small and "lightweight" (relative to the other two) the Audi A3 is. I mean, 1290kgs isn't that far off what a heavier C2 sedan like the Linea T-jet would weigh.

[Kami]

Originally Posted by AJ56

Assuming all cars are NCAP 5 stars, the heavier vehicle will be the safest no contest. As the stars only hold against their own weight class. Superb is 1560 kg kerb and A3 is 1295 kg, with Elantra coming in at 1408 kg. The Superb will be the safest of the 3 from a crash survivability view. A difference of 250 kg+ is not trivial. You can look up Smart car vs larger merc C and S class crash tests to see the same point in action. Both have perfect crash ratings individually but the Smart car occupants fared much worse as they were subjected to much higher g forces during impact.

If we're assuming that heavier cars are safer, you also need to keep in mind that the amount of force required to propel an object (car) is proportionate to it's weight (and acceleration).

A bigger car will lead to more force required to propel the car, and hence if you hit a stationary wall, the impact force will be larger due to inertia, which may be transferred to the passenger.

Note: This is only if the car hits a wall and comes to a standstill, if it is a head-on collision, the lighter car will likely be pushed backwards (assuming they're going at the same speed), but it is very circumstantial.

[AJ56]

Originally Posted by Kami

If we're assuming that heavier cars are safer, you also need to keep in mind that the amount of force required to propel an object (car) is proportionate to it's weight (and acceleration).

A bigger car will lead to more force required to propel the car, and hence if you hit a stationary wall, the impact force will be larger due to inertia, which may be transferred to the passenger.

Note: This is only if the car hits a wall and comes to a standstill, if it is a head-on collision, the lighter car will likely be pushed backwards (assuming they're going at the same speed), but it is very circumstantial.

I’m not assuming, it’s a fact rooted in simple physics. The kinetic energy being carried by two bodies is shared equally among them in a crash; the lighter body will experience a significantly greater deacceleration/g force than the heavier body. That’s the reason NCAP crash test ratings only hold against their own weight class.

Against an immovable object you’re right; the only object that can yield is the car and it comes to down to its design such as crumple zones, etc. larger vehicles will have larger crumple zones for eg. to absorb the larger amount of crash energy due to their heavier mass.