the saga of Fiat with zero stars in the Euro NCAP tests had one more episode. After about a year the Italian brand saw the Fiat Punto drop from a five-star safety rating to zero, it was Fiat Panda's turn to follow in its footsteps and become the second model in the history of Euro NCAP to achieve the dishonorable distinction.
Among the nine models evaluated in the most recent round of tests carried out by Euro NCAP, two were from the FCA group, the Fiat Panda and the Jeep Wrangler. Unfortunately for the FCA these were the only ones not to get a five star rating, with Panda getting zero and Wrangler having to settle for just one star.
The other models put to the test were the Audi Q3, BMW X5, Hyundai Santa Fe, Jaguar I-PACE, Peugeot 508, Volvo V60 and Volvo S60.
Why zero stars?
The story of the second Fiat model to earn zero stars at EuroNCAP has similar contours to that of the Fiat Punto. As in this case, the ratio of the zero stars is the antiquity of the project.
The last time it was tested, in 2011, the Panda had even had a reasonable result (gained four stars) since then a lot has changed and standards have become much more demanding.
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In the four items evaluated — protection of adults, children, pedestrians and safety assistance systems — Fiat Panda scored less than 50% on all of them. In fact, when it comes to child protection, Panda got the lowest score ever, with just 16% (to get an idea the average of cars tested in this item is at 79%).
In terms of safety assistance systems, the Fiat Panda obtained only 7%, as it only has a warning for the use of seat belts (and only on the front seats), and it does not have any no more driving aid system . The result obtained by the small Fiat led Euro NCAP to claim that the Italian model was “understandably surpassed by its competitors in the race for safety”.
The lone star of the Jeep Wrangler
If the result obtained by the Fiat Panda is justified by the age of the model, the only star conquered by the Jeep Wrangler becomes more difficult to understand.
The second FCA model tested by Euro NCAP in this round is a new model, but even so, the only safety systems it has are a seatbelt warning and a speed limiter, not counting autonomous braking systems or other safety systems.
Regarding the result achieved by the Jeep Wrangler, Euro NCAP said that “it is disappointing to see a new model, put on sale in 2018, without an autonomous braking system and without assistance in maintaining the lane. It was high time we saw an FCA group product offer levels of security that rivaled its competitors.”
In terms of pedestrian protection, the result was also not positive, achieving only 49%. In terms of the protection of front seat passengers, the Wrangler showed some deficiencies, with the dashboard causing injuries to the occupants.
In terms of child protection, despite having obtained a score of 69%, Euro NCAP stated that “several problems were encountered when we installed different child restraint systems in the vehicle, including universal ones”.
With this result, the Jeep Wrangler joined the Fiat Punto and Fiat Panda as the lowest-rated models ever in the Euro NCAP tests.
Five stars, but still in trouble
The remaining models tested all obtained five stars. However, the BMW X5 and Hyundai Santa Fe were not without their problems. In the case of the X5, the airbag protecting the knees did not deploy correctly, a problem that had already been detected when the BMW 5 Series (G30) was put to the test in 2017.
Hyundai Santa Fe
In the case of the Hyundai Santa Fe, the problem is with the curtain airbags. In versions with panoramic roof, these can be torn when activated. However, Hyundai has already corrected the problem and models that were sold with the defective system have already been called to the brand's workshops to replace the airbag fittings.
Michiel van Ratingen, from Euro NCAP, said that “despite the work done by the brands in the stages of development of their models, Euro NCAP still sees some lack of robustness in basic areas of security”, also stating, “to be fair, the Audi Q3, Jaguar I-PACE, Peugeot 508 and Volvo S60/V60 set the standard against which the rest of the models were judged in this test round. can serve as an example“.
Audi Q3
The Jaguar I-PACE was also mentioned by Euro NCAP as a good example of how electric cars can also offer high levels of safety.