Home » Crash test, electric Zoe and Spring: ok for the environment, fail on safety

Crash test, electric Zoe and Spring: ok for the environment, fail on safety

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ROME – Electric cars must obviously be promoted on the environmental front also on the safety front. And so far the pairing seemed to work well. But the latest EuroNCAP tests of 2021 have reserved some surprises.

Among the eleven new models tested, alongside the 5 stars assigned to Bmw iX, Genesis G70 and GV70, Mercedes EQ EQS, Nissan Qashqai, Skoda Fabia and Volkswagen Caddy and the 4 stars for the New Fiat 500 and MG Marvel R, stand out the disappointing results from Dacia Spring, which got only 1 star, and Renault Zoe, which got none. The two small electric cars of the Renault group finish last in the Euro NCAP tests, behind two other Dacia, the Logan and the Sandero Stepway. Forerunner of power supply, the Renault Zoe has been on the market since 2013 and has so far been rated with 5 stars. Last year, however, the French electric was updated with a substantial restyling, improving the battery but, obviously, not introducing sufficient safety equipment to guarantee a positive evaluation by the Euro NCAP.

In particular, the European body underlines the low evaluation of the protection of the occupants on board and the scarce availability of driver assistance systems, highlighting strong criticalities for the weak protection of the femur, thorax, neck and head of both the occupants and children, because ” the side airbag that protected the head and chest has been replaced by a less efficient one ”. Additionally, ADAS systems are only available as options, but have not been evaluated under the Euro NCAP protocol.

The small Dacia Spring, launched at the beginning of 2021 as the cheapest electric on the European market, stops at only 1 star due to poor protection of the chest, skull and neck and the difficulty in opening the doors after impact. Even the provision of driver assistance systems, evaluated at a basic level, strongly penalized the final evaluation. “Renault was synonymous with safety,” Euro NCAP Secretary General Michiel van Ratingen commented in a statement. “La Laguna was the first car to get 5 stars, in 2001. These disappointing results show that safety has become a collateral damage in the group’s switch to electric.”

Small but definitely safer is the new fully electric Fiat 500, which performed brilliantly, winning 4 stars. It does not reach the maximum score for some critical issues. Maximum score, however, for the electric BMW iX, which easily passed all the tests, with maximum scores in the side impact tests. It completes the range of driving assistance systems, including the monitoring of the psycho-physical state of the driver.

Five stars also for the fully electric Mercedes EQ EQS. Excellent scores in occupant protection in almost all tests and completes the Adas equipment. The Nissan Qashqai, petrol and hybrid-petrol, is the other queen of this test series. 5 Stars and excellent scores in all tests: highest rating of the Adas systems and highest score for the lane keeping system. The new electric models of the Genesis, the G70 and the GV70, follow, with the maximum score, with excellent scores in all tests, and excellence in those of side impact and in the protection of children on board. Complete the equipment of the Adas, including the monitoring of the psycho-physical state of the driver. The Mg Marvel R with electric motor, gets 4 stars and good results in all tests. Weak protection of the chest, pelvis and neck in some impacts. The operation of the automatic emergency braking system is also marginal. The Skoda Fabia, petrol engine, gets 5 stars and excellent results in all tests. It completes the range of driver assistance systems. The only critical issues are the marginal evaluation of the head protection of children and the passenger’s excursion in the event of a side impact. The Vw Caddy, petrol and diesel engines, gets 5 stars for excellent results in all tests and for the complete and performing equipment of driving assistance systems. Criticality in the protection of the thorax and femur in the event of a frontal impact.

“This new series of EuroNCAP tests highlights that when manufacturers decide to invest in safety, (especially by installing efficient Adas systems as standard), they gain – declared Angelo Sticchi Damiani, president of the Automobile Club of Italy – where vice versa, the new models are in fact not and the new technologies are obsolete or absent, the safety level of the vehicles suffers “.

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