Also many good results, including for Mazda 6e
It’s not raining sunshine at the moment, but rather NCAP stars. Safety institute Euro NCAP has once again crashed a series of new or updated models with good intentions. The result? Many maximum scores of five stars, but also disappointing results for the Volkswagen T-Cross, Dongfeng Box and the new flagship model from DS.
The European branch of Global NCAP knows no stopping. In September, the safety institute presented the results of crash tests with a huge range of new models and is doing so again now. Of the 18 new or updated models that were crashed, no less than 15 returned home with the maximum achievable score of five NCAP stars. These include cars that are not or not yet available in the Netherlands, such as the IM IM5, Ebro S700 and S800 and Cherry Tiggo 7 and Tiggo 8, but also cars relevant to our market like the Audi Q3, BMW X3, Mazda 6e, Skoda Octavia, Volkswagen ID4 and Volkswagen Golf. Unfortunately, there are also cars that returned home with a less impressive report.
The brand new flagship from DS had to settle for four instead of five NCAP stars. The DS N°8 loses points among other things because there is no detection system for passengers in the back seat, but scored ‘adequate’ to good during the physical crash tests. Less impressive are the scores of the Volkswagen T-Cross and the Dongfeng Box. Both scored only three NCAP stars. The Volkswagen T-Cross is essentially almost seven years old and was facelifted in mid-2023, so its lower score is somewhat understandable. Particularly in the areas of safety for vulnerable road users and safety systems, the T-Cross disappointed. The considerably younger Dongfeng Box scored better on those two aspects, but fell short significantly in the area of resident safety. In that area, the relatively affordable electric car scored only 69 percent of the maximum achievable points.
During the frontal crash test, several welding points of the bodywork failed, resulting in a greater chance of deformation of the bodywork around the occupants. This bodywork, deemed not strong enough, worries Euro NCAP. Euro NCAP was also not particularly pleased with the fact that the doors did not automatically unlock after a collision, which could hinder emergency services’ access to occupants. Additionally, the air pressure in the steering wheel airbag was too low, resulting in the ‘driver’s’ head making contact with the steering wheel.
“The Dongfeng Box does not perform as well as other small electric cars tested by Euro NCAP. Other affordable electric cars, such as the BYD Dolphin Surf, Firefly, Mini Cooper E, Lynk & Co 02 and Renault 4 and 5 have achieved four or five stars,” said Ales Williams of Euro NCAP in a statement.