Star players keeping us safe
low-speed, whiplash protection systems in adult occupant protection and high-speed systems in safety assist, the latter which also includes lane keeping assist systems. These systems aid safer driving and accident avoidance.
Electronic stability control (ESC) is no longer directly tested by EuroNcap but points are awarded for compliance with European Union legislation.
There are also important changes to the way in which pedestrian testing is done, including more detailed analysis of the bumper and the front edge of the bonnet. Additionally, gravitas is given to safety assist in the tallying of the scores and that of adult occupant protection is reduced.
Star ratings from 2014 contain more extensive technical content than those from previous years and thus should not be directly compared, according to the report from the organisation.
Kicking things off in the Supermini category the Citroen C1, Hyundai i10, Opel Corsa and Suzuki Celerio all scored four stars in their respective crash tests, which is not too shabby a result in the segment, considering that few of these come as standard with accident avoidance systems. Importantly, it shows small cars do not need to sacrifice safety.
Moving on to the Small Family segment, the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer — launching in SA this week — together with the Citroen C4 Cactus that will be available at the end of this quarter, and the Nissan Qashqai all scored an exemplary five stars in their segment, which is testament to the strides taken by manufacturers in recent times.
Meanwhile,
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Renault Megane hatch scored four stars.
In the popular Large Family segment, the locally built Mercedes-Benz C-Class scored five stars. Other manufacturers that scored full marks were the recently launched Ford Fusion (sold as a Mondeo in other markets), the Subaru Outback and the new Volkswagen Passat, which will arrive later this year.
The Small MPV category saw the funky Kia Soul score a commendable four stars. The popular Small Off-road segment saw the Mercedes GLA, Porsche Macan and Nissan X-Trail score five stars. So too did the Jeep Renegade and Land Rover Discovery Sport, both of which will be launched in SA this year. In the Large Off-road segment, the yet to be launched new Kia Sorento stood head and shoulders above, scoring an impressive five stars.
Perhaps not surprisingly, considering the brand’s stance on safety, the Mercedes V-Class — to be made available on our shores at some point in the future — scored five stars in the Business and Family vans segment.
“We congratulate those manufacturers whose cars are in our Best in Class list for last year. It shows a commitment to offer the highest levels of safety which, nowadays, means active accident prevention as well as top-rate crash protection,” said Michiel van Ratingen, EuroNcap’s secretary-general.
“As these technologies become more widespread and costs fall, we will see more manufacturers follow the example of the class leaders and offer the best all-round safety to all consumers.”
To reiterate Van Ratingen’s words, the addition of the safety items means that few models could attain full marks in the latest crash test results, but as the technology becomes more cost-effective to specify in vehicles, it will certainly trickle into other models of the respective stables.