“Experience has shown the level of secure design applied in the manufacturing process is the single most important factor in determining the theft rate of a particular model,” says David Morgan, chairman of the NMVTRC.
The Jaguar XF range, available in New Zealand from $90,000, has the same security features as the XFs sold across the Tasman.
Each of the winning vehicles had been assessed against its leading market competitors in relation to the security of its entry systems (such as door, ignition locks, alarms, rear seat/boot access and glazing); engine immobiliser (higher technology immobilisers attracting higher scores); and vehicle identification (body stamping, security labelling and microdotting).
The technical assessments were done by NRMA Insurance’s research centre in Sydney. The security features of 70 current model vehicles were rated against a comprehensive scoring matrix to determine the class winners. A full list of all vehicles and their scores is available from the NRMA Insurance web site.
