Euro NCAP released the safety ratings of nine cars. The Audi Q3, BMW X5, Hyundai Santa Fe, Jaguar I-PACE, Peugeot 508, Volvo V60 and its partner, the S60, all achieve a maximum five-star rating. However, two FCA vehicles – FIAT’s aging Panda and Jeep’s all-new Wrangler – get zero stars and one star respectively.
The Panda, last tested by Euro NCAP in 2011, has now been comprehensively overtaken by rival superminis in the race for safety. With nothing more than a seatbelt reminder scoring points in Euro NCAP’s Safety Assist box, the vehicle fails to reach even a single star, a dubious distinction matched only by the Punto in 2017.
In contrast, the four-wheel drive off-road Jeep Wrangler is an all-new vehicle, fresh to the market in 2018. With a seatbelt reminder and a simple driver-set speed limiter but no other form of driver-assistance system, the Wrangler clears the one-star threshold but lags far behind its competitors.
All other vehicles tested on this session managed to get 5 Euro NCAP stars. The guys form Euro NCAP managed to find out that the BMW X5 has some little problems on deploying the knee driver airbad, while the Hyundai Santa Fe had a problem on the side curtain airbags on the cars equipped with panoramic roof who could be torn during deployment.
In response, Hyundai has already changed the airbag fixings in production and early cars are subject to an official recall. Owners of such vehicles will be contacted by the manufacturer and should make sure they take their cars to dealers to be re-worked.
