Brilliance Galena Crash-Test ... Not brilliant at all

Cairo, 5.11.2007

Brilliance Crash TestThe Bavarian Auto Group, which assembles both the German BMW and the Chinese Brillance car at the same factory / assembling line in 6th of October City (Cairo), is launching today (5.11.2007) its second Brilliance model, the Brilliance Splendor! Due to the fact that the previous Brilliance crash-test results are, contrary to the name 'Splendor', EXTREMELY poor we therefore decided to show our members and readers the latest Brilliance crash-test result. Before buying or even considering the purchase of the Brilliance Galena (BS6) or the Brilliance Splendor (BS4), you should first read this article and the disappointing crash-test result, in order to know exactly how safe this car is, so you wouldn't be endangering yourself or your family. After that its up to you to decide if u would like to safe money on such a Chinese car and risk your health or safety, or invest more money in another car with better passive and active safety features for the benefit of the safety and health of your family and yourself. So, read and decide for yourself:
Brilliance Galena: Not brilliant at all…

The Brilliance BS6 which is produced in Egypt under the name Brilliance Galena was supposed to be the first Chinese car to enter the European market. Various European automotive clubs conducted a series of crash test with EuroNCAP standards, which ended with a devastating and horrible result for the Chinese manufacturer Brilliance.



Brilliance Crash TestFrom a maximal possible five star verdict in the category passenger safety the Brilliance Galena achieved a single star verdict. Other European and Japanese cars like the Nissan Quashquai and Toyota Avensis achieved easily the maximum of five points due to their advanced and up-to-date safety features.



A second star, which the Brilliance Galena achieved due to the resulting score, was immediately removed as the side crash passed the biomechanical limits for the chest and abdominal sector of the driver.



The offset frontal crash caused the front end including the A-pillar on the driver side to be pushed by 20 cm into the cabin and the door was so deformed that it could only be opened with heavy tools. The survival space was drastically minimized causing severe injuries. The pedals and the dashboard also penetrated the cabin. In addition to this, the steering wheel deviated to the side. Consequently, the airbag was practically useless as the drivers head narrowly missed the steering wheel to hit the dashboard in a very hard manner.



The passenger sitting beside the driver was luckier, as the right side of the car was less destroyed than the driver's side.

Brilliance Crash TestThe absence of a belt restrain system caused the chest and legs to be highly damaged. On the other hand, the side crash resulted in fatal strain in the chest and abdominal area of the driver, making any likelihood of survival almost impossible.

In contrast to this, the Brilliance Galena scored 30 points out of possible 49 in the children protection category which translates into a 3 star verdict. But the reason for this score was the quality of the children seat utilized during the test procedure rather than the Brilliance Galena quality itself. It should also be mentioned that the length of the seatbelts on the backseats were too short, making it almost impossible to attach a baby shell.



The most remarkable experience is not the shameful result of the crash test itself, but how the producers, importers and dealers world wide reacted to the above-mentioned catastrophic data. In Belgium for example, buyers of the Brilliance BS6 will get their money back. The importer decided to withdraw the car from the market after the crash test results were published. The Antwerp-based car dealer Cardoen who ordered 120 cars from which 9 were sold, decided to return the down payments made by the Brilliance Galena / BS6 clients.



In Germany, and after the miserable crash test results were published, Brilliance importer HSO admitted during an interview published in "The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" that the Brilliance BS6/Galena does not resemble German standards, and therefore should be more improved and developed. HSO managing director Hans -Ulrich Sachs mentioned according to the newspaper, that the 350 Galena owners will have the right to exchange their cars. In Egypt, the picture is completely different. Advertorial material, which was published in several widespread newspapers, claimed superior safety of the Brilliance Galena in comparison to other cars of the same category. It seems that they haven’t heard anything about something called 'EuroNCAP' yet.



Brilliance Crash TestIn addition to this, the Bavarian Auto Group (assembler of Brilliance in Egypt) did not offer a money-back policy or future car exchanges for the victims who bought the Brilliance Galena. Furthermore, BAG thought that it was a very smart move to sell the BS6 under the name Galena in order to minimize the possibility of being caught selling a completely unsafe car in the Egyptian market. Much worse is the fact that the Brilliance –which is manufactured in Egypt on the same assembly lines like the BMW models- and apparently equipped with Porsche suspension technology and Mitsubishi engine, ended up like an egg cartoon being slammed against a granite wall. When providing know-how and technical assistance to another company, a prestigious company like Stuttgart based Porsche should select and distinguish its partners very carefully in order to minimize any reputation and image harm. Also, it would be very helpful if Porsche could clarify which parts of the Brilliance Galena precisely enjoy Porsche technology, so readers know what they are buying. Same goes for the Japanese engine provider Mitsubishi. Until Brilliance changes its safety features, we recommend not to buy the Brilliance now.



So, what does the crash-test of the Brilliance Galena tells us about the crash-test of the smaller Brilliance Splendor? Well, we can be sure that the Splendor crash-test result will be pretty much the same like the Brilliance crash-test result. At least until Brilliance proves the opposite.