The Car Domain

The new Fiat 500 received five stars in adult occupant protection with an overall score of 35 points in a recent press release from Euro NCAP. Another car in the same supermini category - the Renault Twingo also did quite well, receiving a four-star result in adult occupant protection with an overall score of 28 points.

No child protection rating was available for the Twingo as there was not enough space to fit Renault’s recommended child restraints in the rear seats with the front seats set to Euro NCAP’s test position for adults.


The Kia Cee’d

Two cars in the small family car category also received Five stars in Adult Occupant Protection. The Kia Cee’d is the first Kia to receive 5 stars since Euro NCAP first tested this make of car in 2003. The Peugeot 308, received five stars in adult occupant protection and a higher result in pedestrian protection than the Kia Cee’d, with a three star score.

Click the following links for their full test results:

• Fiat 500
• Renault Twingo
• Kia Cee’d
• Peugeot 308

According to a press release issued by Euro NCAP on wednesday, 27th June, the Dodge Caliber was awarded four stars for adult occupant protection, four stars for child occupant protection and one star for pedestrian protection in the small family car category.

The complete test results for this five-door hatchback will be available from 27th June 2007.

FYI, the front impact test is conducted at 64km/h (40mph) into an offset deformable barrier, the side impact test 50km/h (30mph), the pole test at 29km/h (18mph) and the pedestrian tests at 40km/h (25mph).

The Dodge Caliber replaces the Neon. It was first introduced at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show, and went on sale in the spring of 2006. Prices in the UK starts from £11,695 OTR for the 1.8 S (MAN). Source: Dodge UK

In another unrelated news, Euro NCAP announced that their next Secretary General will be Michiel van Ratingen. He will take up his post when the current Secretary General Adrian Hobbs retires later this year.

Michiel van Ratingen is a Mechanical Engineer with extensive experience in the field of vehicle safety. Michiel worked at TNO, as head of Automotive Safety, and later at First Technology Safety Systems.

Adrian Hobbs retires after over 35 years working in accident research, vehicle safety and Euro NCAP. He initiated the Euro NCAP programme and has taken a leading role in its development. He joined the Euro NCAP Secretariat in 2003.

Adrian Hobbs has helped Euro NCAP elevate car safety to a level no one could have anticipated
ten years ago. Adrian has been one of the world leaders in vehicle safety

Renault has recalled all the Clio II here in the UK. This follows complaints of bonnets suddenly flying open while driving. Read the BBC report here.

There was report about a Clio bonnet popping up and smashing the windscreen yesterday.

Spanish car-maker Seat has bowed to consumer pressure and reversed its decision to remove the seatbelt reminder system from the León. Euro NCAP was told that the safety feature would be axed at the end of August 2006, as part of a cost-saving exercise and asked Seat to reconsider this decision. After receiving no response, Euro NCAP issued a press release on the 25th August 2006 informing consumers of Seat’s proposed action. Public reaction to that information appears to have convinced Seat’s management to continue to fit the seat belt reminder system as standard.

Seat issued a press release stating that no Leóns had been produced without the seatbelt reminder system. Following a request from Euro NCAP for clarification, Seat has now informed Euro NCAP that they have no plans to remove the seat belt reminder from the León.

Euro NCAP Chairman, Claes Tingvall, said, “This shows the influence that public opinion can have on car manufacturers when it comes to maintaining the highest levels of safety. We are pleased that Seat have responded as they have.”

Today, Euro NCAP issues its latest set of crash test results.

Ratings for four new cars are released: the Toyota Auris, Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Magentis and Skoda Roomster. Two of the cars, the Auris and the Roomster, are awarded a five star rating for adult occupant protection. The Magentis and the Sante Fe are both awarded four stars.

Despite the Skoda’s excellent five star adult occupant rating, Euro NCAP’s tests identified a weakness in the Roomster. Main battery power cables are vulnerable to damage as they are routed down the front of the battery. In the frontal crash test, these cables were damaged resulting in a loss of electrical power. As a consequence, the seat belt pretensioners failed to fire. Skoda proposed the fitment of reinforced sleeves over the cables to protect the cables. They also proposed a modification that maintained sufficient electrical supply to fire the pretensioners, even if the cables were damaged. As a consequence, Euro NCAP allowed a retest. In the retest, the cable protection was found to be inadequate with some cables again being damaged. However, the other modifications did ensure that the seat belt pretensioners operated correctly.

Euro NCAP asked if Skoda planned to modify cars already sold but was disappointed to learn that there are no plans to do this. Skoda has appllied the modifications to vehicles from VIN number TMBVCB5J875025783.

As well as a maximum five star rating for adult occupant safety, the Toyota Auris also achieves a commendable three stars for pedestrian protection. However, the Hyundai Santa Fe is given a zero-star rating for its pedestrian protection after failing to score a single point. The Kia Magentis also does extremely badly, scoring only three points for a one-star rating.

Claes Tingvall, “These are appalling results from these two Korean manufacturers. It has taken the car industry a long time to address the issue of pedestrian safety but several manufacturers are now making improvements and the Toyota Auris joins a growing list of three star cars. For the Santa Fe not to score a single point shows that Hyundai have made no effort whatever to protect pedestrians and reflects a worrying disregard for the safety of this important group of road-users. Manufacturers like Hyundai and Kia are now a long way behind the front-runners and it is high time that they realise that such poor results are unacceptable.”

The ratings for these cars in more detail go to their site here .

For further information please contact the Euro NCAP office: office@euroncap.com.

Tags: Citroën C4 Picasso Euro NCAP Seat Skoda Toyota Auris

Euro NCAP has recently released the test results for a total of eight new results.

Four of the cars achieved the maximum five-star rating for adult occupant protection – the Ford Galaxy, the Mercedes-Benz B-Class, the Lexus IS and the Citroën C4 Picasso. All of the other cars, including the Honda Civic and Audi Q7, achieved four-star ratings.

The five-star cars were praised by Euro NCAP’s chairman, Claes Tingvall, “These manufacturers clearly believe that their customers demand the highest levels of safety and they are able to provide that very high level of protection in their cars. It is reassuring that such manufacturers consistently achieve high ratings.”

In contrast, it was widely reported that Honda expected the new Civic to achieve a five-star rating. However, to Euro NCAP’s disappointment, the tests have shown that it is a four-star performer, an uncompetitive result compared with other cars in its category.

Claes Tingvall, “It is disappointing, though perhaps not surprising, that some manufacturers should try to make it known that they are expecting the highest award from Euro NCAP. Honda state on their websites that they expected a five-star rating for the Civic and continue to do so even after our rating has been published. Such statements are clearly misleading and confusing to the public. Honda has yet to produce a five-star car and should wait until our results are known before suggesting otherwise.”

Audi’s Q7 suffered a rupture of the footwell in the frontal impact, a result of poor welding. Audi state that they have improved production quality as a result of Euro NCAP’s tests, yet they decided not to submit the vehicle for re-test.

Claes Tingvall, “The Q7 is an expensive, prestige vehicle from a marque known for the quality of its products. Those who have bought the car will be disappointed that it has not been rated higher than some older, cheaper vehicles in the same category. People paying a premium price for a vehicle must surely expect to get the highest levels of protection.“

Six of the cars achieved a four-star rating for child protection with the other three cars being awarded three stars.

The Honda Civic was the only car to be awarded three stars for its pedestrian protection. All other cars were awarded two stars except the Kia Carnival which was awarded only one star.

Claes Tingvall, “It is reassuring to see Honda continuing their good results in pedestrian protection. There are now a number of three-star cars and we hope that the trend will continue to spread across the industry. At the same time, it is disappointing to see Kia achieve only one star. It shows that some manufacturers still do not take pedestrian safety seriously. Clearly they have much to do to catch up with the others. We would like to see them and other poor performers place a much greater emphasis on protecting this vulnerable group of road-users.”

Read the ratings for these cars in more detail here.

Tags: Audi Q7 Citroën C4 Picasso Euro NCAP Ford Galaxy Honda Civic Lexus IS