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Car Loans customers were among those being warned of the dangers associated with city cars this week.
Thatcham has published research showing that the smaller vehicles may be more economical and easier to drive than other cars, but their SEAT design means that they are associated with a higher risk of whiplash.
"Good seat design is not something that should be inherently linked to higher value cars and this latest set of results will hopefully act as a catalyst for vehicle manufacturers to look at improving seat and head restraints design within this important and growing sector," said Matthew Avery, research manager of crash at Thatcham.
He added that some 75 per cent of seats tested are now given a rating of either good or acceptable - but maintained that city car safety needs to improve for the benefit of car loans customers and their motoring peers.
The organisation acknowledged that Car Finance costs may be lower for drivers of city cars, but warned that the vehicles are the least effective types of motor in protecting occupants from whiplash when low speed rear end collisions occur.
In similar research that may be of interest to car loans customers, Thatcham last December revealed that the lack of an effective universal bumper design is boosting crash repair bills by £2 billion a year.
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