The latest two cars to be tested by Euro NCAP in the world’s most stringent safety assessments were the Renault Kangoo and the Vauxhall Mokka.
The cars achieved strong results across all categories in impact and crash avoidance testing, resulting in solid four-star rankings for both.
Matthew Avery, Director of Research, Thatcham Research comments: “These are family-friendly cars, so it is really positive to see that young passengers are well protected.
“We saw good scores across all critical body areas of the child crash test dummies seated in the rear of the Renault Kangoo. And the small, off-road Mokka also performed well, especially in terms of the protection offered to child occupants during the side barrier impact.”
In terms of crash avoidance technology, the Kangoo also comes with a good Autonomous Emergency Braking system, which successfully detected vulnerable road users and other vehicles.
However, both vehicles fell short of the maximum five-star rating, in part due to performance in lateral impact testing.
Avery continues, “The crash tests showed that the cars offered less protection than we have seen in other similar vehicles when impacted in “non struck side” testing, which measures dummy excursion and interaction. The restraint and airbag systems in both vehicles failed to prevent excursion or the extent to which the adult dummy moves to the opposite side of the car in an impact. Similarly, the interaction was an issue, with neither vehicle having a countermeasure in place to prevent occupant-to-occupant injuries.
“Most vehicles tested in 2021 do have centrally mounted airbags to contain occupants, which could have helped the Kangoo and Mokka towards stronger ratings. That being said, emerging from our latest and most rigorous testing with four stars is still a good result.”
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