The Latino NCAP organization, which conducts independent safety assessments of new passenger cars for Latin America and the Caribbean, has released the latest round of crash-test results. In this update, the Brazilian Volkswagen Polo hatchback earned three stars out of five. This rating places the Polo in a mid-pack position within the region’s current safety benchmarks, highlighting areas where the vehicle falls short under priority protections and crash scenarios that testers consider essential for everyday urban driving and family travel.
In the same evaluation cycle, the Toyota Corolla and the Volkswagen Virtus both achieved top marks, receiving five stars each. These results underscore a strong safety performance when measured against the same structural integrity criteria, restraint systems, and dummy protection metrics used by Latino NCAP. The contrast between the Polo and the two sedans illustrates how variations in safety equipment, crash-avoidance features, and crash-test design can influence overall scores even among compact models available in the same market landscape.
Latino NCAP noted that the Polo’s star rating was impacted by the absence of certain auxiliary electronics and the lack of side curtain airbags. The organization reports that the car delivered 73 percent protection for the driver and 71 percent protection for child occupants in targeted crash scenarios, with pedestrian protection at 51 percent. Auxiliary electronic systems contributed 58 percent to the overall score, reflecting how electronic safety aids can alter outcomes in real-world conditions and tests alike. Separately, regional automotive news confirmed ongoing price adjustments in the Russian market, where a variant of the Lada Niva Travel rose by 68,000 rubles, illustrating how safety ratings and market dynamics together shape consumer choices across different regions.