Five-star cast

According to Euro NCAP results released in mid December 2007, testing of Volvo's new V70 large family wagon and the Mazda2 "Supermini" light car picked up design faults that drove both manufacturers back to the drawing boards.

In both cases the problems related to airbag deployment -- front airbags in the Mazda and side curtain airbags in the Volvo.

According to the Euro NCAP report, "small disturbances" not normally related to the authority's testing procedures were found to delay deployment of the airbags.

The Euro NCAP testing found that, in the case of the Mazda2, "a small disturbance shortly before impact led to a delay in the firing of the airbags and protection of the front seat occupants was compromised."

A similar situation was found to occur in the Volvo, where "curtain airbag deployment was delayed in the side pole test."

Both companies took steps to rectify the problem, the Mazda2 passing a re-test granted by Euro NCAP with flying colours for an impressive five-star adult occupant protection rating.

In its second test the Volvo continued to experience late-firing curtain airbag problems, yet also achieved a five-star adult occupant protection rating. Volvo is continuing to investigate the problem, says Euro NCAP.

Four cars were awarded with a five-star adult occupant protection rating in the mid December test results.

These included, as well as the Mazda and Volvo, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Renault Laguna -- which was set to continue its role as a Euro NCAP star with potential best-ever results in adult occupant protection, but dropped back a little when one of the rear doors opened during the side impact test.

Still, it shared top ratings with the Volvo in the large family car category, with five stars for adult occupant protection (the same star ratings recorded by the Mazda2 in the "Supermini" category).

In the small family car category, Honda's Civic scored four stars in adult occupant protection, while the Daihatsu Materia Supermini also tested lagged behind the Mazda2 with four stars.

Euro NCAP's positive findings in passenger safety were offset by its being "disappointed" that none of the cars managed more than three stars (for Honda Civic -- all the others recorded only two) for pedestrian protection."

Although Mazda "improved the airbag control software" in the Mazda2 to address the problem, Australian cars are differently specified and, according to a Mazda Australia spokesman, are not affected.

Volvo Cars Australia, which will sell the V70 here from the first quarter of 2008, says the new wagon "fulfils Volvo's own stringent internal safety requirements based on real-world crash research -- not a laboratory test."

Car companies have been critical in the past of the limitations of single-vehicle tests as conducted by Euro NCAP.

Hyundai Australia's sales and marketing boss Kevin McCann was unhappy with the four-star rating achieved by the company's new i30 small car, which was designed from the outset to achieve a five-star rating. The co-developed and very similar Kia Cee'd recorded five stars, apparently due to a rounding off of the points applied to each model.

"That's something we're not too happy with, especially given it's (Euro NCAP testing) based on single-incidence testing when our own multiple-incidence (i30) testing put us well above the requirements. We're totally blindsided by this outcome because we were very confident going in."

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