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Added on the 18/04/2022 07:42:55 - Copyright : Auto Moto EN
Unfortunately, things do not fare much better for Renault’s no-frills sub-brand Dacia. The full electric Spring, marketed as a brand new vehicle, is heavily based on the Chinese-made Renault City K-ZE, itself a derivative of the troublesome Renault Kwid, sold in India and Brazil for several years. Dacia has staunch supporters across Europe: car buyers who appreciate the low entry prices and steer clear of “useless features” in their car. However, with the Spring, the “masters of frugal engineering” have launched a product that goes beyond no-frills. Its performance in crash tests is downright problematic, with a high risk of life-threatening injuries for driver chest and rear passenger head in frontal crash tests and marginal chest protection in side impact. The mediocre crash performance and poor crash avoidance technology results in one star rating for Dacia Spring.Michiel van Ratingen comments: “Renault was once synonymous with safety. The Laguna was the first car to get five stars, back in 2001. But these disappointing results for the ZOE and the Dacia Spring show that safety has now become collateral damage in the group’s transition to electric cars. Only a few months ago, Dacia claimed that they were ‘preoccupied with always increasing safety for those on board’ and that their cars always have passenger safety improved (see Autocar). That’s clearly not the case: not only do these cars fail to offer any appreciable active safety as standard, but their occupant protection is also worse than any vehicle we have seen in many years. It is cynical to offer the consumer an affordable green car if it comes at the price of higher injury risk in the event of an accident. Other cars, such as the FIAT 500e, recently awarded 5 stars in Green NCAP, show that safety does not need to be sacrificed for environmental cleanliness.”
Nissan X Trail - Crash & Safety Tests - 2021
The third generation Hyundai i20 shares the 2021 four star rating of the closely-related BAYON.
July 2022 sees the introduction of new vehicle safety legislation, mandating the fitment of important safety systems such as autonomous braking and speed assistance on new vehicle types. And it will be a busy one for Euro NCAP too, in its 25th year, with many cars lined up for testing and with plans for a new roadmap to set the course for safety for the next decade.In the meantime, car manufacturers continue to recognise the value which consumers and fleet operators place on a good Euro NCAP rating. Volkswagen gave the popular Polo a solid facelift, which, in addition to extra style, especially added more technology. Thanks to the addition of new centre airbags and more capable crash avoidance systems, the facelifted Polo cleared the hurdle for a 2022 five-star rating.
The 5-star winners in this batch range from affordable supermini and small MPV to high-end executive electric cars. Despite having different powertrains and price tickets, all five-star cars performed very well overall in terms of crash protection and crash avoidance. There are stand-out performances from the new Nissan Qashqai in the area of safety assist and the Mercedes-EQS for adult and child occupant protection. FIAT’s electric supermini, the 500e, and the all-new MG Marvel R, also both put in strong performances and achieved commendable four-star ratings.
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