ARCAP (Autoreview Car Assessment Program) is an automobile safety assessment program founded by the Russian car magazine Autoreview. It was Russia's first independent rating for the passive safety of a car, presenting itself as the local edition of the Euro NCAP program. [1] It also provides exclusive test results on some models not marketed in Europe or North America, such as AvtoVAZ vehicles. [2]
Since 1996, Autoreview has been conducting independent crash tests for cars sold in the Russian market. [3] The early tests did not comply with international car safety testing methodology. [4] In 2001, the first test was carried out according to the rules of Euro NCAP, though only for frontal impact. [5]
At first the score could deviate from testing norms: in 2002 the VAZ-2110, which would have scored only 0.7 points out of 16 by normal testing criteria, was awarded an additional four points to set it apart from the even less safe Izh Oda and VAZ-2106. [3] For similar reasons it was decided to distinguish between cars with low levels of safety, and cars that in addition to being unsafe were structurally unsound. [3]
In 2017, ARCAP agreed to perform a second crash test on the new UAZ Patriot, after the manufacturer had complained about its methodology following a disappointing rating. The second test ultimately assigned the car a similarly low rating. [6]
According to the results of crash tests (frontal impact of a deformable barrier at 64 km/h with a 40% offset), [7] the car is rated on a scale (0 to 16) following the protocol for the Euro NCAP frontal impact. The score is converted into a star rating, from zero to four stars, [8] that does not coincide with a Euro NCAP rating. By December 2010, over 20 models were assigned a zero-star rating. [9]
Due to a lack of sufficient funds, [3] Euro NCAP standards are applied only in part, as only passive safety is tested, and only for the frontal part of the vehicle. [10] No side crash tests are carried out. [11] Active electronic components such as anti-lock braking systems or electronic stability programs are not considered. [12]
The ratings include symbols for the driver, passenger and car. The car symbol is crossed out in the test result if the impact seriously compromised the structural integrity of the vehicle body. The symbols of the driver and passengers are crossed out where vehicle occupants may be at increased risk of injury to vital organs. [3]
Tests are conducted in the Dmitrovsky District test grounds of the NAMI research institute, [7] and the Laboratory Impact Testing of AvtoVAZ. The Dmitrovsky test grounds near Moscow and AvtoVAZ are the only facilities in Russia to provide access to acceleration catapults and modern Hybrid III dummies, with the equipment required for their calibration. [3] Outside of Russia, ARCAP uses test grounds of the TÜV SÜD subsidiary in the Czech Republic. [13]
AvtoVAZ is a Russian automobile manufacturing company owned by the state. It was formerly named as VAZ, an acronym for Volga Automotive Plant in Russian. AvtoVAZ is best known for its flagship series of Lada vehicles. In the Soviet Union, its products used various names, including Zhiguli, Oka, and Sputnik, which were phased out in the 1990s and replaced by Lada for the Russian market. From December 2019 to August 2020, AvtoVAZ sold Niva cars with Chevrolet branding.
The Lada Niva Legend, formerly called the Lada Niva, VAZ-2121, VAZ-2131, and Lada 4×4, is a series of four-wheel drive, small (hatchback), and compact off-road cars designed and produced by AvtoVAZ since 1977. Initially aimed at the rural market, later models also targeted urban users. The three- and later five-door 4×4 hatchbacks were sold under the Lada marque in many markets, and have been in continuous production since 1977.
A crash test is a form of destructive testing usually performed in order to ensure safe design standards in crashworthiness and crash compatibility for various modes of transportation or related systems and components.
The Lada / VAZ-2105, 2104 and 2107, collectively marketed as Lada Riva for right-hand drive models, the Lada Nova in Germany, and by multiple other names and markets, are a series of compact sedans of the Zhiguli line-up, built by Russian car manufacturer AvtoVAZ. Introduced in 1979 in the Soviet Union, and progressively introduced to Western European and global markets from the early 1980s, under the Lada brand, they were sold as saloons, and station wagon (2104) versions.
The Lada Оkа is a city car designed in the Soviet Union in the later part of the seventies by AvtoVAZ. It entered production in 1988 powered by a 644 cc (39.3 cu in) SOHC two-cylinder engine. While developed at AutoVAZ by a team led by Yuri Kuteev, no production models were built there. Instead, manufacturing was outsourced to SeAZ factory in Serpukhov and ZMA in Naberezhnye Chelny. Massive plans were in place for a new plant in Yelabuga, but these failed to materialize. The car was also produced in Azerbaijan by the Gyandzha Auto Plant. The name comes from the Oka River in Russia upon which Serpukhov is situated.
The European New Car Assessment Programme is a European voluntary car safety performance assessment programme based in Leuven (Belgium) formed in 1996, with the first results released in February 1997. It was originally started by the Transport Research Laboratory for the UK Department for Transport, but later backed by several European governments, as well as by the European Union. Their slogan is "For Safer Cars".
The Lada Kalina is a supermini car produced by the Russian manufacturer Lada (AvtoVAZ) since 18 November 2004 to July 2018. The name Kalina comes from the Russian name for a type of viburnum. It is also marketed as the Lada 117/119 in Finland.
The Chery A15, also known as Cowin, Flagcloud or Amulet, is a subcompact car produced by the Chinese manufacturer Chery from 2003 to 2010. A facelifted variant was called the Cowin 2 and was sold from 2010 to 2016.
The Fiat Albea is a subcompact car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat between 2002 and 2012, at the Tofaş facilities in Turkey. It is the European version of the global Fiat Siena, the sedan car derived from the hatch compact Fiat Palio. It is a low cost sedan, aimed at developing global markets, and was not sold in Western Europe.
Lada, marketed as LADA, is a brand of cars manufactured by AvtoVAZ, a Russian state-owned company. From January 2021 until May 2022, Lada was integrated with then sister brand Dacia into Renault's Lada-Dacia business unit.
The Daewoo Lanos is a compact car produced by the South Korean manufacturer Daewoo from 1997 to 2002, and thereafter produced under license agreements in various countries worldwide. It has also been marketed as the Daewoo Sens, ZAZ Sens and ZAZ Lanos in Ukraine, Doninvest Assol and ZAZ Chance in Russia, FSO Lanos in Poland, or Chevrolet Lanos in Ukraine, Russia, and Egypt.
The Lada 110 or VAZ-2110 is a compact car built by the Russian automaker AvtoVAZ from 1995 to 2009. It spawned two close derivatives: the Lada 111 estate and the Lada 112 hatchback.
The Lada Priora is a compact car produced by the Russian automaker AvtoVAZ since March 2007. It is largely a restyled and modernised Lada 110 and replaced it in 2009. By May 16, 2012, 590,000 Prioras had been produced. Starting model year 2016, the Priora is not available for export market and has been replaced by Lada Vesta.
The Lada Granta is a subcompact car developed by Russian automaker AvtoVAZ in collaboration with Renault, based on the Lada Kalina platform. Mass sales started in Russia on 1 December 2011.
Lada Izhevsk is a subsidiary of the state-owned carmaking company AvtoVAZ based in Izhevsk, Russia. It was formerly a subsidiary of Izmash under the IzhAvto brand, and manufactured both motorcycles and automobiles. The company was given its current name in 2017.
A New Car Assessment Program is a government car safety program tasked with evaluating new automobile designs for performance against various safety threats.
The VAZ-2106 Zhiguli is a sedan produced by the Soviet automaker VAZ, and later, after the breakup of the Soviet Union, also by Russian Izhevsk Avto and Ukrainian Anto-Rus. In export markets, it was known simply as Lada 1600 or alternatively as Lada 2106. In the domestic market it was popularly nicknamed Шестёрка. A hugely popular car and one of most successful Lada models, it was in serial production for 30 years, although production in the VAZ plant ended after 25 years, in 2001, with manufacture continuing at Izhevsk for the final five years.
Autoreview is a Russian car magazine that was founded in 1990 and originated as "Autoreview Newspaper." It is published biweekly with each edition running between 32 and 64 pages. The magazine is known for its ARCAP safety rating of cars sold in Russia.
The Lada Vesta is a subcompact car produced by the Russian car company AvtoVAZ since 2015. It was presented in August 2014 during the Moscow International Automobile Salon and went into mass production on 25 September 2015 in Izhevsk.
RN Bank is a Moscow-based joint venture bank established in 2013 and owned by UniCredit Bank Russia, RCI Banque and Nissan. It is aimed at financing car sales for the local car manufacturer AvtoVAZ.