Which cars on the market offer the lowest level of safety? In this article, based on Euro NCAP information, the Alfa Rent a Car Airport Cluj Napoca office will present you 10 cars that you will not want to be in in the event of a road accident. But what is Euro NCAP? Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Programme) is an independent organization that tests and assesses the safety of new cars. The purpose of Euro NCAP is to encourage car manufacturers to develop and offer safe vehicles so that potential customers can make informed decisions about purchasing a car. Euro NCAP assesses vehicles in a series of crash tests and bases its safety rating on the vehicle's performance in these tests. Euro NCAP currently tests cars in five different categories: adult protection, child protection, pedestrian protection, active safety features and safety assistance.
Euro NCAP's crash tests are designed to replicate real car accident situations and include frontal impact, side impact, side pillar impact and obstacle impact tests. Euro NCAP safety ratings are expressed as stars, with a maximum of five stars. A vehicle that achieves 5 stars means that it has achieved high scores in all test categories and is therefore considered to be one of the safest vehicles on the market.
According to the Euro NCAP ratings, in ascending order (from the lowest rating to the highest rating), the 10 least safe cars available on the market are:
1. Fiat Panda (2018)
2. Fiat Punto (2017)
3. Jeep Wrangler (2018)
4. Dacia Logan (2013)
5. Citroën Nemo (2008)
6. Renault Trafic (2015)
7. Nissan Pulsar (2014)
8. Renault Kangoo (2013)
9. Fiat Tipo (2017)
10. Suzuki Jimny (2018)
The Fiat Panda was tested by Euro NCAP in 2018 and received a safety rating of 0 stars, which is why the Alfa Rent a Car Cluj Napoca Airport company informs you that this is one of the lowest scores obtained by a vehicle in Euro NCAP tests and ranks first in our ranking. The Fiat Panda scores in each of the specific tests are as follows:
• Frontal impact test: 45% protection for adults, 57% protection for children
• Side impact test: 16% protection for adults, 43% protection for children
• Pole side impact test: not tested
• Assessment of active and passive safety systems: 7% of a possible 100%
The reasons why the Fiat Panda received a low rating include poor protection of adult passengers in a frontal, side impact and poor protection of child passengers in a side impact. Also, the assessment of active and passive safety systems showed that there are no active safety features in the vehicle, and passive safety features are insufficient.
The Fiat Punto was tested by Euro NCAP in 2017 and received a safety rating of 0 stars, making it the 2nd most dangerous car on the market. The Fiat Punto scores in each of the specific tests are as follows:
• Frontal impact test: 51% protection for adults, 43% protection for children
• Side impact test: 43% protection for adults, 16% protection for children
• Pole side impact test: 0% protection for adults
• Rating of active and passive safety systems: 0% out of a possible 100%
The reasons why the Fiat Punto received a low rating include insufficient protection of adult and child passengers in the event of a frontal and side impact. The Fiat Punto did not offer safety features such as forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, electronic stability control or speed limiter. In addition, in the side pillar impact test, the car offered no protection for adult passengers. It is important to mention that the Fiat Punto was discontinued in 2018 and is no longer produced by the company.
Jeep Wrangler was tested by Euro NCAP in 2018 and received a safety rating of 1 star. Jeep Wrangler scores in each of the specific tests are as follows:
• Frontal impact test: 50% protection for adults, 69% protection for children
• Side impact test: 32% protection for adults, 49% protection for children
• Pole side impact test: 50% protection for adults
• Assessment of active and passive safety systems: 32% out of a possible 100%
The reasons why the Jeep Wrangler received a low rating include insufficient protection of adult and child passengers in the event of a frontal and side impact. In addition, the passive safety features were not adequate to protect the occupants in the event of an impact. The Jeep Wrangler did not have active safety features such as forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking or speed limiter. The American manufacturer Jeep has made significant improvements to the Wrangler model launched in 2019 and received a better safety rating with 3 stars Euro NCAP, but nevertheless the Alfa Rent a Car Cluj Napoca company recommends that you check the specific safety rating Jeep Wrangler model prior to purchase.
The domestic car manufacturer Dacia received 2 stars for the Logan model in Euro NCAP tests in 2013, with the following scores in each of the specific tests:
• Frontal impact test: 4.78 points out of a total of 16 possible points
• Side impact test: 6.49 points out of a total of 16 possible points
• Side impact test with a pole: not tested
• Assessment of active and passive safety systems: 22% out of a possible 100%
The reasons why the Dacia Logan received this low rating include poor protection of adult passengers in frontal and side impacts, poor protection of child passengers in side impacts and a lack of active safety features such as automatic emergency braking or electronic stability control. It is important to note that this safety rating is specific to the Dacia Logan model tested in 2013 and that newer Dacia Logan models have been improved in terms of safety features and performance but the 2-star rating has remained the same.
Citroën Nemo was tested by Euro NCAP in 2008 and received a 3-star safety rating. Citroën Nemo scores in each of the specific tests are as follows:
• Frontal impact test: 11.6 points out of a total of 16 points (72% protection for adults)
• Side impact test: 10.8 points out of a total of 16 points (60% protection for adults)
• Pole side impact test: not tested
• Evaluation of active and passive safety systems: 4.4 points out of a total of 9 points
The reasons why Citroën Nemo received a low rating include insufficient protection for adult and child passengers in the event of a frontal and side impact. In addition, the car did not offer safety features such as side airbags or electronic stability control that could improve passenger protection in the event of a crash. The car rental agency Alfa Rent a Car Airport Cluj Napoca Avram Iancu informs you that the Citroën Nemo has been withdrawn from the market and replaced by the Citroën Berlingo, which received a rating better than 4 stars in the Euro NCAP tests.
Renault Trafic was evaluated by Euro NCAP in 2015 and received a 3-star rating. This rating was given for the standard version of the vehicle without side and curtain airbags. During the tests, Renault Trafic achieved the following scores:
• Frontal impact test: 5.66 points out of a total of 8 points
• Side impact test: 11.5 points out of a total of 16 points
• Side impact test with a pillar: 2.43 points out of a total of 8 points
• Evaluation of active and passive safety systems: 4.75 points out of a total of 13 points.
The reasons it received this low rating are related to the protection offered to passengers in the event of a side impact or in the event of a side impact with a pillar. In addition, the emergency braking system is not available as standard equipment on this vehicle, which also influenced the rating of active and passive safety systems.
The Nissan Pulsar received a 3-star rating in Euro NCAP tests and the scores obtained by it in each of the 4 tests carried out by Euro NCAP are as follows:
• Frontal impact test: 72% for adult protection, 83% for child protection, 68% for pedestrian protection and 59% for safety assistance.
• Side impact test: 78% for adult protection, 83% for child protection and 58% for pedestrian protection.
• Side impact test with a pillar: 60% for adult protection and 83% for child protection.
• Rating of active safety systems: 38% for safety assistance.
The reasons why the Nissan Pulsar received a relatively low rating are mainly due to problems with the protection of adult passengers in the event of a frontal impact, but also problems with safety assistance and pedestrian protection.
Renault Kangoo was evaluated by Euro NCAP in 2013 and received a 3-star rating and the scores obtained by this car in each of the 4 tests carried out by Euro NCAP are as follows:
Frontal impact: 3 out of 5 stars
Side impact: 2 out of 5 stars
Side impact with a pole: 2 out of 5 stars
Active and passive safety systems: 3 out of 5 stars
The reasons why it received this low rating are mainly due to the fact that the vehicle does not have a robust structure and the protection of passengers in the event of an impact is insufficient. In addition, the child restraint system was deemed ineffective, and side airbags are not standard on all models.
Fiat Tipo received a 3-star rating in the Euro NCAP tests carried out in 2016 and the Alfa Rent a Car Cluj Airport office presents below the scores obtained by this car in each Euro NCAP test:
• Frontal impact test: 84% for adults, 78% for children, 64% for pedestrians and 56% for safety assistance systems;
• Side impact test: 83% for adults, 82% for children and 42% for safety assistance systems;
• One-pillar side impact test: 78% for adults, 78% for children and 0% for safety assistance systems.
The main reasons why the Fiat Tipo received a rating of only 3 stars are poor performance in pedestrian protection and safety assistance systems, as well as marginal protection in the event of a side impact with a pillar. The Fiat Tipo has also not been rated for collision avoidance safety assistance systems.
The Suzuki Jimny received a rating of 3 out of 5 stars in the Euro safety tests and the scores obtained by it in each of the 4 tests carried out by Euro NCAP are as follows:
• Frontal impact: 73%
• Side impact: 84%
• Side impact with pole: 50%
• Active safety systems: 50%
• Passive safety systems: 73%
The reasons why the Suzuki Jimny received this relatively low rating are as follows: the protection of adult passengers in a frontal impact was considered insufficient, especially in the leg and chest area, the protection of passengers in a side impact with a pole was also rated as insufficient, with the risk of serious injuries to the head, abdomen and pelvis. In terms of active safety systems, the Jimny has no emergency braking or lane keeping assist, which resulted in a low score in this category.
In conclusion, it is important to remember that these safety ratings are based on specific tests and standards and do not provide a complete picture of a car's safety in all possible situations of use. It's also important to consider other safety-related aspects, such as active and passive safety features and driver assistance systems, when considering a car purchase.
For NON-STOP reservations at Alfa Rent a Car please contact us:
0748.166.966
contact@alfarentacar.ro