I had been saying at Vox that the Daewoo Leganza was not the safest car on the market in its day (the Australians gave it a two-plus star rating). The horrid Holden Epica—née Daewoo Tosca—is derived, or at least can trace its lineage, from that vehicle.
   While there are no NCAP results for the Tosca that I could find, I was able to locate some information about the car from which it was derived.
   Technically speaking, the Leganza was the car from which the Tosca platform sprung, but in between, there was a major revision when Daewoo launched the Magnus. It would be unfair to compare Tosca with Leganza; the Magnus is a fairer comparison point. This car was sold in the US as the Suzuki Verona.
   Back in 2005, the US Government tested the Verona (my italics):

The Suzuki Verona received the lowest rating in driver-side frontal crash tests among passenger cars for the 2005 model year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
   The Verona was the only vehicle tested to receive three stars in the frontal test, which estimates a 21 percent to 35 percent chance of serious injury.

   Even the diehard Holden nut who believes the Epica or Tosca is the bee’s knees should hold off if his or her family’s safety is something worth worrying about. I would wait till some independent safety ratings are published about the Epica, which is, to all intents and purposes, a revised Verona or Daewoo Magnus.
   I hope, for Holden’s sake, this does not prove to be yet another débâcle such as the Holden Barina safety scandal. Posted by Jack Yan, 00:57  permalink

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