CARS STILL EASY PICKINGS
Security experts say car makers still have some way to go to make their vehicles safe from thieves.
In trials for WhatCar? magazine, they were able to break into 80% of vehicles within a two-minute limit.
Most models proved easy work, with the Fiat Panda Dynamic opened in just eight seconds.
It took 11 seconds to get into a Kia Picanto SE.
Only a handful of cars defied the efforts of the testers, including two BMWs.
Passing with flying colours were the BMW 525i SE, Lexus RX300 SE-L, Peugeot 407 SE and BMW X3 SE.
The experts were allowed only commonly available tools for the tests and were trying to break into 20 new cars without damaging them.
What Car? said that although the British Crime Survey suggested car crime was 12% down in 2003-04, there are still more than 1.3 million thefts from cars each year.
Editor David Motton said: "Car security is far better than a decade ago but there are still some popular cars on sale with weak locking systems.
"We advise all buyers to consider the results of our security tests before they buy."
Mr Motton also advised car owners to never leave belongings on show to tempt thieves, always lock vehicles and activate the alarm and immobiliser where fitted.
Models Tested:
1 BMW 525i SE - No entry within 2 minutes
2 Lexus RX300 SE-L - No entry within 2 minutes
3 Peugeot 407 SE - No entry within 2 minutes
4 BMW X3 SE - No entry within 2 minutes
5 Skoda Octavia Ambiente - 117 sec
6 Volvo S40 SE - 108 sec
7 Volkswagen Touran S -100 sec
8 Citroen C2 VTR - 75 sec
9 BMW 116i - 69 sec
10 Audi A6 Quattro SE - 64 sec
11 Peugeot 307 CC - 63 sec
12 Renault Scenic Privilege - 53 sec
13 Mini Cooper S Convert - 52 sec
14 Vauxhall Astra Design - 46 sec
15 Subaru Legacy SE - 40 sec
16 Mazda RX-8 - 39 sec
17 Smart Forfour Pulse - 31 sec
18 VW Golf GT - 26 sec
19 Kia Picanto SE - 11 sec
20 Fiat Panda Dynamic - 8 sec
Security experts say car makers still have some way to go to make their vehicles safe from thieves.
In trials for WhatCar? magazine, they were able to break into 80% of vehicles within a two-minute limit.
Most models proved easy work, with the Fiat Panda Dynamic opened in just eight seconds.
It took 11 seconds to get into a Kia Picanto SE.
Only a handful of cars defied the efforts of the testers, including two BMWs.
Passing with flying colours were the BMW 525i SE, Lexus RX300 SE-L, Peugeot 407 SE and BMW X3 SE.
The experts were allowed only commonly available tools for the tests and were trying to break into 20 new cars without damaging them.
What Car? said that although the British Crime Survey suggested car crime was 12% down in 2003-04, there are still more than 1.3 million thefts from cars each year.
Editor David Motton said: "Car security is far better than a decade ago but there are still some popular cars on sale with weak locking systems.
"We advise all buyers to consider the results of our security tests before they buy."
Mr Motton also advised car owners to never leave belongings on show to tempt thieves, always lock vehicles and activate the alarm and immobiliser where fitted.
Models Tested:
1 BMW 525i SE - No entry within 2 minutes
2 Lexus RX300 SE-L - No entry within 2 minutes
3 Peugeot 407 SE - No entry within 2 minutes
4 BMW X3 SE - No entry within 2 minutes
5 Skoda Octavia Ambiente - 117 sec
6 Volvo S40 SE - 108 sec
7 Volkswagen Touran S -100 sec
8 Citroen C2 VTR - 75 sec
9 BMW 116i - 69 sec
10 Audi A6 Quattro SE - 64 sec
11 Peugeot 307 CC - 63 sec
12 Renault Scenic Privilege - 53 sec
13 Mini Cooper S Convert - 52 sec
14 Vauxhall Astra Design - 46 sec
15 Subaru Legacy SE - 40 sec
16 Mazda RX-8 - 39 sec
17 Smart Forfour Pulse - 31 sec
18 VW Golf GT - 26 sec
19 Kia Picanto SE - 11 sec
20 Fiat Panda Dynamic - 8 sec
It was an S Guard with all the works wasn't it?
