- The Honda CR-V needs an optional safety package to get five stars.
- AEB systems found on the Nio EL6 and Toyota C-HR performed particularly well.
- Nio has equipped the EL6 with various safety features to help vulnerable road users.
Less than a year after being announced for the European market, the Nio EL6 has been tested by Euro NCAP and awarded a five-star safety rating. The Chinese brand’s crossover joins the ES8, ET7, ET5, and EL7 having achieved a five-star rating in Europe.
Like all other Nio models, the EL6 is fitted as standard with a host of safety features, including a camera, radar, lidar, and an autonomous emergency braking system that Euro NCAP says “performed extremely well.” In adult occupant crash tests, the electric SUV scored 37.5 points or 93% while in the child occupant tests, it scored 42 points or 85%.
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Extensive testing was also done to see how safe the EL6 is around vulnerable road users, like cyclists, pedestrians, and motorcyclists. The AEB system achieved ‘Good’ ratings in scenarios including an adult crossing the road and a car reversing towards an adult or child. It achieved an ‘Adequate’ rating when tested to see how it reacted to a child running from behind a parked vehicle.
Euro NCAP’s latest round of testing also includes the Toyota C-HR and Honda CR-V 2.0 Hybrid. The most up-to-date version of the C-HR receives a five-star rating. Testers were particularly impressed by its AEB system, noting that it earned top marks in almost every test. The standard driver monitoring system that relies on steering inputs and lane position was labelled “indirect” but a more advanced driver eye monitoring device is available as an option.
The standard CR-V 2.0 Hybrid could quite match the five-star ratings of the Nio and Toyota and in standard guise, was awarded a four-star safety rating. However, this increases to five-star when the SUV is equipped with the optional Honda Sensing 360 package that includes corner radars and has much better AEB performance.
“It comes as no surprise that these three sophisticated cars are hitting the mark, albeit with an optional safety pack in the case of the CR-V,” Euro NCAP Secretary General Michiel van Ratingen said in a press release. “It is rewarding to see advanced sensing solutions such as lidar being deployed to provide ever-better crash avoidance however greater focus still needs to go on the safety of other road users. Unfortunately, crashes cannot always be avoided, and high crashworthiness remains a critical backbone.”
