Five safety stars for Mercedes X-Class

The upcoming Mercedes-Benz X-Class ute is among eight new models to receive a maximum five-star safety rating from independent crash test body Euro NCAP.

Joining the mould-breaking German pick-up, which arrives Down Under next April, are a host of new vehicles also due in local showrooms in 2018 or already on sale here.

They include the all-new Jaguar E-PACE small SUV also due here in April, and the third-generation Porsche Cayenne due set for local sales by mid-2018.

Freshly minted five-star cars already on sale here include the Subaru Impreza hatch and XV crossover, and the latest Honda Civic hatch, which was retested following improvements to the car’s rear seat restraint.

Also scoring top Euro NCAP honours was the Citroen DS 7 Crossback SUV, which is under consideration for Australia, and the new-generation BMW X3 released last month.

The all-new mid-size German SUV has now also received a five-star rating from NCAP’s local affiliate, ANCAP, although that’s largely academic as ANCAP’s rating regime will be harmonised with Euro NCAP’s from 2018, when autonomous emergency braking (AEB) will be a prerequisite for five stars.

However, none of the eight models in the latest round of Euro NCAP testing matched the ‘best ever’ crash result of Volvo’s upcoming XC60, which recently scored a 98 per cent score for adult occupant protection, 87 per cent for child occupant protection, 76 per cent for pedestrian protection and 95 per cent for Safety Assist.

Closest for adult occupant protection was the Cayenne (95/80/73/62%) but, surprisingly, the only other model to do worse for Safety Assist was the X3 (93/84/70/58%).

The X-Class scored solid 90/87/80/77% results, the E-PACE was lacklustre with 86/87/77/72% and the XV (94/89/84/68%), Impreza (94/89/82/68%), Civic (92/75/75/88%) and DS7 (91/87/73/76%) were somewhere in between.

Based on the Nissan Navara, the X-Class comes standard with seven airbags and is also available with Active Brake Assist and Lane Keeping Assist.

Meantime, Jaguar has confirmed it first compact SUV, the E-PACE, will be available with Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection, Lane Keep Assist, Driver Condition Monitor, Reverse Traffic Monitor and Blind Spot Assist.

Handing down its five-star rating for the new BMW X3 in Australia and New Zealand, ANCAP said ‘Good’ or ‘Acceptable’ injury risk ratings were recorded for the majority of critical body regions.

However, “‘Marginal’ levels of protection were recorded for the chest of the rear passenger in the full width test and the chest of the driver in the pole test.”

ANCAP chief executive James Goodwin noted that Australia’s X3 comes with more standard safety features than in Europe, where a left-hand drive xDrive20d variant was tested.

“It is encouraging to see standard safety inclusions being prioritised for our market,” he said.

But highlighting the problem with awarding an ANCAP score for a differently specified Australian model without actually crash testing it here, ANCAP added: “A lane departure warning system and speed assistance system are standard on Australian and New Zealand BMW X3 models.

“As these systems were not available as standard on the tested European variant, these systems have not been assessed and respective nil scores applied.

“Effectiveness testing of these systems could improve its overall ‘Safety Assist’ score,” said ANCAP.

Secretary General of Euro NCAP, Michiel van Ratingen said the latest results were encouraging.

“Unsurprising as these results may be to some, these ratings continue to represent outstanding engineering achievements,” he said.

“This should not be taken for granted given the fact that Euro NCAP’s rating regime now includes over 15 different tests and hundreds of individual requirements, which are strengthened all the time.

“It is very positive that manufacturers still see a five-star rating as the target for most new vehicle models.”

Van Ratingen heralded even tougher tests next year.

“As we approach the end of the year, Euro NCAP is preparing for the new tests in 2018, in which auto brake systems that can detect and mitigate cyclists will be put to the test for the first time.

“These new tests and other planned updates will reflect the surge in automated vehicle functions that we expect to see on the market in the next years.

“Our mission is to help consumers understand how these systems operate, to show what they are capable of and to explain how one day these might save your life”.