Chinese Makes Earn High Euro Safety Rating

The Chevrolet Malibu, Kia Rio, Mercedes-Benz B-Class and C-Class Coupe, Range Rover Evoque, Subaru XV, VW Beetle and VW Up! receive the top safety rating of five stars as the European New Car Assessment Program issues its last ratings of the year.

Subaru XV shares best-ever child-protection rating.

Six models are awarded four stars: Chinese newcomers, the Geely Emgrand EC7 and SAIC MG6, as well as the Fiat Panda, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jaguar XF and Renault Fluence ZE electric vehicle.

Europe NCAP says the 4-star ratings for the SAIC MG6 and Geely Emgrand EC7 demonstrate the auto makers’ desire to improve the safety record of Chinese brands in Europe.

Euro NCAP Secretary General Michiel van Ratingen says the results mark a milestone for the Chinese automotive industry.

“It is a clear sign that Chinese car makers are building on recent experiences and rapidly investing in better vehicle safety,” he says. “Even with the upcoming increased demands, five stars are expected to be within reach soon.”

The full-electric Renault Fluence ZE sedan fell short of the anticipated five stars, underachieving on pedestrian, driver and passenger protection.

The result puts it on a par with the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, but behind other EVs such as the Nissan Leaf and Opel Ampera tested earlier in the year.

The Fiat Panda loses a star because it is not fitted with standard electronic stability control, despite the technology becoming mandatory in 2012. By contrast, VW ensured very high standard ESC availability on the Up! minicar, securing a 5-star rating for that vehicle and its cousins, the SEAT Mii and Skoda Citigo.

Euro NCAP says the Jeep Grand Cherokee showed disappointing results in child-occupant protection. In the adult-occupant frontal-impact test of that vehicle, the seat rail holding the seatbelt anchorage nearly broke in two, resulting in contact between the driver’s head and the steering-wheel rim through the fabric of the airbag.

“Euro NCAP urges Jeep to complete its investigation into the cause and implement an improved seat-rail design in future production cars soon,” the organization says in its statement.

The safety organization assessed a number of new technologies offered on recently tested models. Auto makers are rewarded for innovations that demonstrate significant safety benefits for consumers.

Ford is recognized for its Driver Alert and Forward Alert systems on the Focus, making that car the first to offer four rewarded technologies. Mercedes-Benz is rewarded for Attention Assist and Collision Prevention Assist, Opel for Adaptive Forward Lighting and Volkswagen for City Emergency Brake.

“We are particularly pleased to see Collision Prevention Assist being fitted as standard equipment to the new Mercedes B-Class, the first time for a car in this segment to have such equipment so broadly fitted,” Van Ratingen says.

“It demonstrates the car maker’s confidence in the ability of brake-support technology, an opinion supported by Euro NCAP.”

Top scorers, the VW Beetle and Subaru XV, achieve superior results in child-occupant protection, both reaching 90%, the maximum score Euro NCAP has yet given for this assessment.

It also is the first time Euro NCAP rewards a fully automatic passenger-airbag-activation system, where the Subaru XV’s front-passenger airbag is activated only when an occupant of a suitable size is detected in the seat, minimizing the risk for younger children seated in that position.