fbpx

Independent, impartial advice for car buyers and car owners

Find an Expert Rating: 

Latest crash tests: top marks for Audi and VW, poor score for Suzuki Jimny

Five stars for Audi and VW, four stars for Ford and only three for Suzuki

Our Expert Partners

Motorway 600x300

Sell your car with Motorway
Find out more

Motors 600x300

Find your next car with Motors
Find out more

Cazoo 600x300

Find your next car with Cazoo
Find out more

ALA Insurance logo 2022 600x300

Warranty and GAP from ALA Insurance
Find out more

MotorEasy logo 300x150

Warranty, servicing and tyres from MotorEasy
Find out more

Mycardirect subscriptions – 600x300

Carsubscriptions from Mycardirect
Find out more

spot_imgspot_img

The latest round of car safety ratings have been released by Euro NCAP, with five-star results for the new Audi A6 and Volkswagen Touareg.

The new Suzuki Jimny, however, only scored a disappointing three stars, while the updated Ford Tourneo Connect scored four stars.

The Jimny’s poor score has come in for criticism from UK safety experts, Thatcham Research. Matthew Avery, Thatcham’s director of research, said: “As a completely new vehicle, [the Jimny] should offer far more protection to drivers in the event of an accident. Its safety technology did not perform optimally either.

“The youthful audience the Suzuki Jimny has been designed for deserve better in terms of passive and active safety.”

Euro NCAP also noted the Jimny’s “underwhelming driver assistance systems.”

Autonomous braking makes the difference

The Audi and Volkswagen were praised for their autonomous emergency braking (AEB) systems, which aced the new cyclist-avoidance test introduced for 2018 and showed good protection for vulnerable road users.

By contrast, the Suzuki Jimny’s AEB system “showed weak performance in tests of its pedestrian avoidance in daylight and does not operate in low light.”

Four stars for facelifted Ford

Unlike the other three models tested, the Ford Tourneo Connect is not an all-new model and is an update to a model that has been on the market since 2012. It was awarded a five-star score by Euro NCAP in 2013

Despite the Euro NCAP testing standards having been toughened considerably in the last six years, the updates Ford has made to the Tourneo Connect meant that it still scored a creditable four stars. In particular, adult occupant protection in the front seats was excellent.

Building blocks for a driverless future

Michiel van Ratingen, Secretary General of Euro NCAP said: “Overall, these latest results demonstrate that, as Euro NCAP’s test protocols evolve and become more demanding, a five-star rating remains an achievable although challenging objective for the auto industry.

“It is particularly positive and welcome that manufacturers are performing well in the assessment of vulnerable road user protection systems such as AEB for cyclists. Euro NCAP has now tested six models which feature this life-saving technology.

“These driver assistance systems are the building blocks for potential automation in the future. Importantly they offer tangible safety benefits today.”

The latest from The Car Expert

Stuart Masson
Stuart Massonhttps://www.thecarexpert.co.uk/
Stuart is the Editorial Director of our suite of sites: The Car Expert, The Van Expert and The Truck Expert. Originally from Australia, Stuart has had a passion for cars and the automotive industry for over thirty years. He spent a decade in automotive retail, and now works tirelessly to help car buyers by providing independent and impartial advice.