Ken Gratton•26 Jun 2014
NEWS
Megane comes a cropper in EuroNCAP test
Renault's small hatch 'fails' crash test, but was it a fair cop?The Renault Megane hatch has been evaluated by EuroNCAP... and found wanting.
In its assessment of the Megane, the European crash safety authority determined that the car warrants just three stars, as tested .
In the past Renault passenger cars have regularly scored five stars from EuroNCAP crash testing. Even the light segment Clio and the smaller still Zoe EV have come out five-star winners, according to EuroNCAP. So how has it come to pass that the larger, more modern Megane fared so badly in this test?
The short answer rests with the 2014 testing regime. Since 2011, when the Clio was tested, EuroNCAP has upped the stakes in its crash test criteria – not once, but three times. For 2012 (the year the Zoe was tested), the thresholds for pedestrian safety were raised, and the points necessary to achieve four or five stars were also increased.
In 2013 protocols had been updated for both child occupant safety and pedestrian safety. This year – the applicable test program by which the Megane has been assessed – the testing regime is even tougher. Safety Assist (driving aids and active safety features including everything from stability control to seatbelt reminders) is weighted more heavily in the overall score for each car tested.
EuroNCAP has arguably marked the Megane hard in the area of Safety Assist. Stability control was standard, as was a seatbelt reminder system front and rear, and a speed limitation device that the driver could set. But it was the seatbelt reminder for the rear seat that saw the Megane fail.
In the crash safety authority's own words: "the system for the rear seats uses text to inform the driver of the status of the rear seatbelts and, as this information was not available in all languages, the system failed Euro NCAP's assessment."
Perhaps this is important in Europe, but in monolingual Australia, where buckling up at all times is mandatory, it smacks of bureaucratic indulgence.
EuroNCAP went on to note that "Renault intend to address this issue very soon. With a compliant system, the Mégane Hatch would have been rated as four stars overall."
Still not a five-star car, however.
The Megane's results by sub-category were 83 per cent for adult occupants, 78 per cent for children, 60 per cent for pedestrian safety and 48 per cent for safety assist. During the same round of testing, EuroNCAP crashed five other cars: Volkswagen Golf Sportvan
, Ford Tourneo Courier, Citroen C-Elysee, Peugeot 301 and MG3. Of the five, only the Volkswagen scored the maximum rating of five stars.
, Ford Tourneo Courier, Citroen C-Elysee, Peugeot 301 and MG3. Of the five, only the Volkswagen scored the maximum rating of five stars.
Measured against the Megane the VW achieved 87 per cent for adult protection, 85 per cent for children, 62 per cent for pedestrians and 73 per cent for safety assist. Other than safety assist, the Renault wasn't too far adrift of the Volkswagen, and according to Renault Australia's Corporate Communications Manager Emily Fadeyev, the Megane would have qualified as a five-star car if it had been judged on the first three criteria alone.
"The adult, child and pedestrian scores all qualify for a five-star rating... it's the safety assist systems [that] are why we haven't been able to achieve that result," she told motoring.com.au earlier today.
The Renault Australia exec also clarified a point about the Megane's standing in the EuroNCAP points tally and star rating system. Simply fixing the rear seatbelt reminders wouldn't be enough to make it a five-star car, even though it qualifies as such in the other three categories. It needs MORE safety assist equipment to achieve the necessary aggregate for five stars.
"It's really just the safety assist systems section," Ms Fadeyev explained. "That rear seatbelt [reminder in all languages] would have taken it to a four-star [rating], and then it would require additional safety assist systems that were not a criterion previously... [to achieve five stars].
"My understanding is that we still needed some additional safety assist equipment... to achieve a five-star result."
One example of such a system volunteered by Ms Fadeyev was Lane Departure Warning, which, if fitted to the Megane would have helped boost its potential for a five-star rating.
"What's fundamental for us and consumers to understand is that the structural and engineering systems are exactly as they were in 2008, when [the Megane] scored the highest possible score in its category..." she concluded.
Given that local crash safety testing body ANCAP relies on EuroNCAP data to set ratings for cars sold here, there's a better than even chance the Megane will gain a five-star rating for the Australian market. Ms Fadeyev wouldn't be drawn on that.
"We don't have that information at this time," she said.
It's no doubt small consolation for Renault, but archrival PSA's Peugeot 301 and Citroen C-Elysee finished up with scores even lower, across all the sub categories.
Tags
Renault
Megane
Car News
Hatchback
First Car
Written byKen Gratton
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