Back when EuroNCAP first crash-tested the Fiat Seicento 16 years ago, the car “walked away” with a 1 1/2-star rating, which leads us to think that the back of this Volvo XC70 might as well have been a brick wall.
According to the owner of the XC70, he was in the process of slowing down when the Seicento slammed into him, resulting in heavy damage – but only to the small Italian hatchback. Thankfully, both occupants of the Fiat were OK.
The lack of damage on the Volvo might lead you to suspect that lives were never in any danger here, but according to EuroNCAP, a Seicento driver’s survival space can be “compromised by the collapse of the passenger compartment which contributed to the driver’s chest contacting the steering wheel.”
The same tests also revealed that “the knee impact area was aggressive and the feet were endangered by the brake pedal movement. The passenger’s head also contacted the center console.”
By the looks of it, the Seicento isn’t exactly the safest car money can buy, whereas the Volvo XC70 sits comfortably at the other end of the spectrum. At least it did back in the late 2000s. And yes, the impact was front-to-back so those little scrapes and dents on the Volvo’s rear bumper are far from being as revealing as what remains of that Fiat’s front end.