Crash tested: Evoque, C-Class, up! and more
Wednesday 23 November 2011
• Mercedes B-Class scores 97 per cent adult safety
• Jaguar XF gets disappointing four stars
• Mii, up! and Citigo trio score five stars
Euro NCAP, the recognised industry safety body, has crash tested some of 2011’s biggest newcomers, including the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque and Volkswagen up!
The Evoque is proving to be a star model, with high demand and a long waiting list. Its five-star crash performance will help cement its popularity with customers. It received 86 per cent for adult occupant protection, 75 per cent for child protection and 41 per cent for pedestrian safety.
Despite their small size and starting price of around £8k, the co-developed Volkswagen up!, SEAT Mii and Skoda Citigo all received five stars with 89 per cent for adult and 80 per cent for child occupant protection.
Volkswagen also scored five stars with its latest take on the iconic Beetle, a major improvement on the four-star result of the previous model – carried out before the crash tests were made more difficult in 2009.
Mercedes also obtained two five-star results for its B-Class MPV and C-Class Coupe. The B-Class scored 97 per cent for adult occupant protection – the highest of any car tested in the latest batch of results. It received 81 per cent for child occupants and 56 per cent for pedestrian safety. The C-Class Coupe scored 90, 79 and 57 per cent in the same categories.
The Kia Rio supermini (costing from £9,995) also achieved the top accolade, with scores of 92 and 84 per cent for adult and child safety and 46 per cent in pedestrian impact tests.
Less impressive was the latest Jaguar XF, which could only match the four-star score of the outgoing version, despite its size and a starting price of £30,950. It scored 79 and 73 per cent for adult and child protection respectively. Chest and rear impact (whiplash) protection were classed as marginal. It did post a high score for pedestrian safety, however, with a score of 62 per cent.
The Fiat Panda hatchback scored 82, 63 and 49 per cent, resulting in a four-star score. It improves on the three-stars scored by the 2004 to 2011 model, but still falls short of the top rating. Side impact chest protection and rear impact (whiplash) were rated as marginal.
Also scoring four-stars was the Jeep Grand Cherokee, with 81, 69 and 45 per cent in the adult, child and pedestrian categories. Its frontal impact thigh and knee protection and rear impact (whiplash) were also classed as marginal.
By Andy Goodwin, senior web journalist