Top Euro NCAP safety test results have been delivered by the Kia EV6, Volvo C40 Recharge, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Volkswagen Multivan in its latest round of crash tests.
The line-up, made up of electric vehicles (EV), SUVs and the one German premium saloon car all scored five-star ratings, as Stellantis’ new hatchback duo, the Opel/Vauxhall Astra and Peugeot 308 both recently reviewed by AM, fell just short with four-star ratings.
Euro NCAP said that all of the five-star rated cars in the recent testes had “demonstrated excellent crash protection”, with scores of 90% or more, compared to 76% and 80% for Stellantis’ cars, alongside “consistently good results for child occupant protection”.
It said that the results should serve to dispel the notion that “the difference between five stars and four stars is always due to ADAS”, although it admitted that was “often also the case”.
Michiel van Ratingen, Euro NCAP’s secretary general, said: “On the whole, we see good scores for crash protection which is, of course, reassuring. But crash avoidance is as important as crash protection and the benefits of simply not being in a collision are, of course, immeasurably greater.
“So, we will keep the emphasis on all areas of safety in the coming years and some manufacturers will have to continue to up their game in this area if they are not going to be left behind by the competition.”
According to Euro NCAP’s latest test results the largest differences between the five-star EV6, C-Class, C40 Recharge and Multivan related to Vulnerable Road User (VRU) protection, with the C-Class – fitted with an active bonnet – outperforming the Korean EV by a significant margin.
Euro NCAP also awarded the C-Class’s Mercedes-Benz’s Car-to-X Communication system, part of the optional Mercedes-me service, a Euro NCAP Advanced reward.
The system utilises data from other vehicles to provide an early warning, via a cloud-based service, of potential hazards.
On overall assistance technology, the Volvo C40 Recharge came out on top, while the VW Multivan put in a solid all-round result, it said.
Delivering its verdict on the sixth-generation Opel/Vauxhall Astra and third generation Peugeot 308, both of which sit on the Stellantis EMP2 platform, Euro NCAP noted that neither was equipped with a centre airbag for far-side crash protection.
It added that “both the offset test and the full-width crash test highlighted marginal chest injury protection for average male and small female drivers”.
The safety test organisation said that both the Astra and 308 offered plenty of crash avoidance technology but lacked some of the latest advancements introduced in the market.
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