Five safety stars for CX-5, i30, 208, 3 Series

Respected European vehicle safety body European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) has rated BMW’s 3 Series sedan, Mazda’s CX-5 crossover, Hyundai’s i30 hatchback and the Peugeot 208 hatch all five-star safe.

Not unexpectedly, BMW’s sixth-generation F30 3 Series, which went on sale in Australia in February and will be bolstered by the addition of two more variants later this month, achieved an outstanding adult protection score of 95 per cent, as well as 84 per cent for child protection, 78 per cent for pedestrian protection and 86 per cent for Safety Assist, which covers additional safety devices such as electronic stability control and seatbelt reminders.

Euro NCAP said the passenger compartment of the left-hand drive 320d it tested remained stable in the frontal impact and offered good protection for the front passengers’ knees and femurs, while all body regions were well protected in the side barrier – in which it scored maximum points.

In the more severe side pole test, ENCAP said protection of the chest and abdomen was adequate and that of the head and pelvis was good, and added that the 3 Series’ “commendable” 78 per cent pedestrian protection score was “a good result for a compact executive car with no active bonnet”.

While NCAP scores cannot be compared across different vehicle types, Mazda’s new CX-5, which was also introduced here in February, scored a commendable 94 per cent adult protection rating, plus 87 for child protection, 64 per cent for pedestrian protection and an 86 per cent Safety Assist score.

Euro NCAP said the LHD 2.2-litre diesel CX-5 it tested also offered good front occupant protection in the frontal impact and good protection in the side barrier test. It also said that even in the severe side pole test, the driver was well protected in all areas and maximum points were scored.

The CX-5 was the only vehicle of the latest group tested to score maximum points in both side impact tests, but
Euro NCAP said that while the CX-5 bumper provided good protection to pedestrians, also scoring maximum points in this area, the front edge of the bonnet was “at best marginal” in the protection it offered to pedestrians.

“The CX-5’s outstanding five-star Euro NCAP result is likely to be reflected in the local ANCAP result”, Mazda's local spokesman, Steve Maciver told motoring.com.au earlier this morning.

In March, the CX-5 compact SUV – the first model to employ the full suite of Mazda’s new SKYACTIV body, chassis and powertrain technologies – was named a ‘Top Safety Pick 2012’ by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in the US.

Meantime, Hyundai’s redesigned i30 hatch – due on sale here later this month – attracted 90 per cent scores for both adult and child protection, a 67 per cent pedestrian rating and 86 per cent for Safety Assist.

The LHD i30 1.4MPI version tested by Euro NCAP was deemed to offer “good” protection for front passengers in the frontal impact, but only “adequate” chest protection in the side barrier test and “weak” chest protection in the side pole test.

However, the i30 achieved top results for its protection of both the 18-month-old infant and three-year-old child dummies, as well as maximum points for the front bumper’s pedestrian protection. “In most areas where a child's head might strike, the bonnet provided good protection but the protection of an adult's head was mixed,” said Euro NCAP.

Finally, a LHD 1.4-litre diesel version of Peugeot’s new 208 – which will arrive in local showrooms by the end of this year – scored 88 per cent for adult protection, 78 per cent for child protection, 61 per cent for pedestrian protection and 83 per cent for Safety Assist.

Euro NCAP said the passenger compartment of the 208 remained stable in the frontal impact, with dummy readings indicating good protection of the knees and femurs of the driver and passenger.

“In the side barrier test, protection of the chest was adequate and that of other body regions was good. In the more severe side pole test, protection of the chest was marginal. The seat and head restraint provided marginal protection against whiplash injuries in the event of a rear-end collision,” said the Euro NCAP report.

The 208’s pedestrian protection score only narrowly exceeded Euro NCAP’s 60 per cent minimum required for a five-star safety rating in 2012.

Read the latest news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site…