This month’s EuroNCAP's top scorers with five star results are the Audi A6, the BMW X3, the Chevrolet Aveo and Chevrolet Orlando, the Citroën DS5, the Hyundai i40, the Opel Ampera, the VW Golf Cabriolet and Jetta.
Only the Kia Picanto receives an overall rating of 4 stars, a result poorer than many of its city-car competitors. Surprisingly, the new Picanto is not fitted with Electronic Stability Control as standard across the model range. Michiel van Ratingen, Euro NCAP Secretary General, says: ‘Proven safety benefits of ESC resulted in new legislation requiring the technology to be fitted as standard on all new models in Europe as of next year. In 2011, consumers should expect this critical safety equipment to be part of any offering regardless of car size or price’.
Euro NCAP continues to test plug-in and electric vehicles and announces that the Opel/Vauxhall Ampera achieves an overall rating of 5 stars. The new range-extending EV reaches the maximum points in the side pole test as a result of a well optimized balance of structure, interior and restraint system.
Also released this month are the Chevrolet Aveo and Chevrolet Orlando, which showed good whiplash and adult occupant protection scores. Euro NCAP recognises the major efforts made by the manufacturer since 2006, when the previous Aveo made headlines with a poor struck-through two star adult occupant result.
Some of the tested vehicles have obtained high scores for child occupant protection. The Hyundai i40 and both VW Jetta and Golf Cabriolet are scoring 86%. Michiel van Ratingen says: ‘Euro NCAP evaluates child safety for each model tested and encourages car manufacturers to provide equally good protection for adults and children. We consider child protection as a very important part of the overall star rating and have plans to step up our requirements even more in the coming years’. (Watch our video on Euro NCAP child safety assessment.)
While many cars released continue to impress in the areas of adult and child occupant protection, pedestrian protection scores are generally still lagging behind. The Opel Ampera, Audi A6 and Citroën DS5 only just meet Euro NCAP's 2011 pedestrian requirements for a 5 star rating but none of the cars in this release would meet the more stringent 5 star requirement of 60% coming into effect in 2012. A few car makers have already stepped up, showing much higher pedestrian scores such as the recently tested Ford Focus. Euro NCAP hopes that others will follow suit soon.Euro NCAP is encouraged to see important advanced safety systems being offered to consumers on more and more models. The largest model yet for Citroën’s premium sub-brand, the Citroën DS5, also achieved 5 stars. The car is fitted with the Citroën Localized Emergency Call, a PSA Peugeot-Citroën technology recognised in 2010 under Euro NCAP Advanced. Likewise, the 5 star new medium-sized SUV BMW X3 comes with the awarded Advanced eCall, a system that is able to automatically notify emergency services providing critical details of the crash event.
