Euro NCAP to focus its sights on improving ‘pedestrian safety’ ratings for several cars

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Written by Staff Reporter

Tuesday, 09 September 2008

EURO NCAP has released the results of safety tests for five cars in five different vehicle classes.

The cars tested were the Daihatsu Cuore, Hyundai i30, Lancia Delta, Renault Koleos and the Mercedes Benz - ML class.

Four of these five cars received the maximum five-star award for adult occupant protection.

Yet, not one of them achieved higher than a two star score in Euro NCAP’s pedestrian rating. Euro NCAP plans to address this concern with the launch of a new rating system in 2009.

When Euro NCAP was established in 1997 the achievement of five stars in adult occupant protection did not even seem possible.

Ten years later, out of the 34 car models tested and assessed by Euro NCAP in one year, 97% of them achieve either a four or a five star result.

Yet there are still areas of safety that Euro NCAP believes need to be prioritised by manufacturers and where lives could be saved.

In comparison to these good adult occupant protection results, no manufacturer achieves a four star result in pedestrian protection.

In the Euro NCAP tests last year, 67% of models were awarded just two stars in this rating, despite approaching legislation.

Euro NCAP is concerned that many manufacturers set out to achieve high scores for adult occupant protection to attract consumers, whilst compromising safety investment in other areas.

Euro NCAP believes that consumers are interested in the safety offered to all occupants and also to other road users when they are choosing a new car. For this reason, Euro NCAP is developing a new rating system that will reward the overall safety of a vehicle.

The maximum rating in Euro NCAP’s new system will continue to be five stars. However, the new overall rating will reflect the protection offered to adult and child occupants as well as pedestrians and will, for the first time, consider the safety potential of advanced driver assistance technologies such as electronic stability control.

The assessment of adult occupant protection will be expanded to include whiplash testing.

Of the five cars whose results are released today, four achieved Euro NCAP’s maximum five-star rating for Adult Occupant Protection. Only two of the five cars achieved a four star score in Child Occupant Protection.

Results released today are for cars in the categories Supermini, Small Family, Large Family, Small Off-Roader and Large Off-Roader. The results were as follows:

Supermini

Make & Adult Protection Child Protection Pedestrian Protection

model

Daihatsu Cuore 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars

Small Family Car

Make & Adult Protection Child Protection Pedestrian Protection

model

Hyundai i30 5 stars 4 stars 2 stars

Large Family Car

Make & Adult Protection Child Protection Pedestrian Protection

model

Lancia Delta 5 stars 3 stars 2 stars