New Euro NCAP crash test results have prompted two car makers to make the expected best-in-class claims.
Volkswagen said its new Golf is the safest car ever been tested by Euro NCAP.
“No other passenger vehicle achieved such a good overall result for the requirements in crash safety, pedestrian protection and child protection,” the firm said in a statement.
The new Golf received the maximum five stars for occupant protection in frontal and side impact tests and was the only vehicle to receive four stars for child protection as well as three stars for the protection of pedestrians.
The Golf was awarded a total of 12 stars, which no other vehicle achieved, due to the extremely rigid passenger compartment und the highly effective restraint systems.
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By GlobalDataMaximum marks were awarded for child protection thanks to the child seat’s isofix anchorage points in conjunction with a supplementary upper belt (top tether). In the case of an accident with pedestrians, the flexible deformation zones at the front end of the vehicle combined with an additional cross member in the bumper of the new Golf considerably reduce the risk of injury.
Separately, Renault said its Mégane Coupé-Cabriolet, ranked safest in its class and is the sixth Renault to score the top five-star rating. The model, with its folding glass roof, scored 33.56 out of 37.1 and was tested in its cabriolet configuration.
It “achieved excellent performance notably under frontal impact, scoring even more than Scénic II which was until now the safest car on the market under this type of impact,” Renault said in a statement.
The company said that Euro NCAP inspectors noted in particular the excellent protection afforded by the vehicle under frontal impact conditions. Structural behaviour proved exemplary, with no intrusion into the passenger compartment.
The injury report, based on analysis of the dummies, confirmed the effectiveness of the car’s restraint system. The antisubmarining airbag (fitted in the front seats on the coupé-cabriolet versions instead of the dual seatbelt pretensioner on other Méganes) fulfilled its specified functions in preventing abdominal injuries and holding the front-seat occupants firmly against their seats to minimise the risk of lower-limb injury.