EuroNCAP’s latest test session will surely be remembered by Dacia as the new Sandero brought the Romanian brand its first-ever 4-star rating. The Nissan Evalia (NV200 in North America) was only awarded 3-stars, while the Renault Captur and Chevrolet Trax both achieved the maximum overall 5-star rating.
Dacia got an 80 percent rating for adult occupants, 79 percent for child occupants and 57 percent for pedestrian protection. The Sandero was penalized for the lack of a rear seatbelt reminder and only got a 55 percent rating for its safety assist systems. EuroNCAP noted that “The passenger compartment remained stable in the frontal impact” and “dummy readings indicated good protection of the knees and femurs of the driver and passenger.”
The Nissan only achieved a 68 percent adult occupant rating, but scored better than the Dacia on child occupant protection (81 percent) and pedestrian protection (67 percent). The safety assist rating was the same – 55 percent. The Evalia was awarded with only three stars because the passenger compartment was judged to be unstable. “The floor panel had torn away from the base of the A pillar and numerous spot welds had released between the floor and sill. The main body of the sill was found to be bent inwards,” EuroNCAP wrote. Furthermore, “the driver footwell was found to have ruptured and was unstable”, with protection of the driver being “predominantly marginal.”
The Renault Captur received an 88 percent rating for adult occupant protection, 79 percent for child occupant protection, 61 percent for pedestrian protection and 81 percent for safety assist. The French small crossover provided good protection overall, but not as good as its rival, the Chevrolet Trax, which scored better in three of the four categories: 94, 85, 64 and 81 percent respectively.
You can watch footage of the crash tests in the videos below.
By Dan Mihalascu
VIDEO