| The award-winning organisation, initiated by the FIA in 1996, was especially scathing about its latest test results for Multi Purpose Vehicles (MPVs). One such MPV, the Chrysler Voyager, was given a particularly poor safety score of two stars with the last star struck through, which indicates an unacceptably high risk of serious or fatal injury. And this is seven years after the same car originally received a two-star result.
Euro NCAP Chairman, Claes Tingvall, said: “I find it shocking that, in seven years, this manufacturer has not been able to improve the safety of this MPV – a car that is clearly targeting families. Still worse is that Chrysler continues to sell this version in the UK whilst a better-equipped and better-performing version is available in left hand drive across the rest of Europe. I do hope that Chrysler intends to show a greater commitment to safety in the future.”
Euro NCAP is an independent crash-test organisation, which was chaired by FIA President Max Mosley from its inception until 2004. It has been credited by the European Commission with advancing road safety in the EU by five years and described by the Commission as the most cost-effective road safety initiative of the last 20 years.
Euro NCAP first tested a collection of MPVs, including the Voyager, back in 1999. Only two out of eight cars received a four-star rating, the maximum available at that time. In its testing, Euro NCAP noted that MPVs were weaker in frontal impact tests. Consequently, many manufacturers have made great improvements to their vehicles since then, particularly in this area.
In August 2006, Euro NCAP awarded the Ford S-MAX 36 points and a five-star rating, making it the best performing MPV to date. However, as the Chrysler Voyager shows, despite this progress, some manufacturers are continuing to sell cars that are little changed from those tested in 1999.
The right hand drive Voyager did not meet the minimum score for a three star Adult Occupant Protection rating. It was also the worst performer for pedestrian protection, scoring no points at all and being awarded no stars. The Jeep Grand Cherokee, also made by Chrysler, performed equally poorly in 2005.
Tingvall added: “I am continually disappointed by the lack of commitment and effort shown by manufacturers to improving the level of pedestrian protection in their vehicles. This is an area where there are few frontrunners and massive room for improvement.”
The results are especially inadequate because Euro NCAP has had a very positive influence on the safety of so many other cars on the European market. Most manufacturers now view Euro NCAP’s tests as the benchmark by which their cars will be judged and some of the most recent vehicles have attained levels of safety which few would have thought possible ten years ago.
But some manufacturers have been slow to respond to Euro NCAP’s challenges and to their customers increased expectations of cars’ safety. Some cars still on the market have dated designs and now lag a long way behind those of other manufacturers. The Chrysler Voyager is due for replacement soon and Euro NCAP has urged the manufacturer to ensure that its replacement will perform as well as its class-leading competitors. After all, there can be few types of car where the increase in safety is more important than in MPVs – cars designed for the safe transportation of families. |
