Santana

Skidding is one of the major causes of accidents. In the past, the only way to stop wheels locking and avoid skidding was to 'cadence brake'- applying and releasing the brake quickly to prevent prolonged wheel lock and maintain control of the car.

Thanks to ABS, we can now brake far more safely. Using advanced electronics, ABS detects when a wheel is about to lock - and automatically releases and reapplies the brakes to prevent a skid.

With ordinary brakes, if the front wheels lock, they will not follow the steered path, so no matter how hard you turn your steering wheel, nothing happens. That's when you lose control of your car. But ABS prevents the wheels from locking, so you can steer to safety.

To further enhance your safety, we include crumple zones at the front and rear of the shell. Crumple zones are designed to absorb impact energy during a collision so that most of the energy is dissipated across these zones, and not in your passenger compartment. The strong outer shell comes with front and rear crumple zones that help to absorb the impact of a crash, increasing the safety of occupants.

The occupant cell is the space in your car containing the driver and passengers. It forms a rigid safety cage and in contrast to the crumple zones of the car body, it is not easily deformed. It is designed to protect the survival space of occupants in accidents up to a certain severity of impact. We use measures such as crash tests to continually improve the safety of our occupant cells.

Why do we need airbags? Because seat belts alone are not enough. In an accident, passengers can be thrown forward even when they're belted, increasing the risk of injuries. We include airbags in all our cars to cushion the impact of collisions and reduce the risk of injury. Along with the seat belts and ABS, the Santana is one of the safest cars in its class.

Your child's safety is a priority - for us, as well as for you. That's why we use Isofix child seat fixings in all our cars.

Isofix is being adopted worldwide as a safer way to travel with your children. The Isofix child seat fixes directly into compatible fittings in your Volkswagen, creating a secure link. It's quick, simple and there's no need to use the adult seatbelts.

ESP puts your safety first in all critical situations by automatically applying the brakes at individual wheels to keep the vehicle heading in the right direction. Whether you are faced with debris on the road or some other unforeseen event – when you are forced to make an evasive manoeuver, ESP helps you to retain better control and stay on track.

Rear park distance control provide eyes where you don’t have them. You’ll hear beeping noise, with beeps getting close together, the more the danger you are in of a collision.