The Vauxhall Ampera has scored the top marks of five stars in the latest set of Euro NCAP crash test results.
The tests showed that when it came to adult occupants, the passenger cell of the Ampera remained stable in the frontal impact. The car has driver and passenger airbags as standard equipment and dummy readings indicated good protection of the knees and femurs of both front seat occupants.
However, structures in the dashboard were thought to present a potential hazard to occupants of different sizes and to those sat in different positions.
The Ampera also scored maximum points in the side barrier test and in the more severe side pole impact, the first car tested by Euro NCAP to do so, with good protection of all body areas. But, the results showed that the protection provided by the seat and head restraint against whiplash injuries in a rear-end collision was marginal. The electrical safety of the car was checked after all of the impact tests and no problems were found.
For child occupants, forward movement of the head of the three-year dummy, sat in a forward facing seat, was deemed to be not excessive and both dummies were properly contained by their restraints in the side impact test. The passenger airbag can be disabled to allow a rearward facing child restraint to be used in that seating position. However, Euro NCAP said the information provided to the driver regarding the status of the airbag was not sufficiently clear.
For pedestrian safety, the Ampera only just met Euro NCAP’s 2011 pedestrian requirements for a five-star rating but wouldn’t meet the more stringent five star requirement of 60% coming into effect in 2012.
Other top scorers were the Audi A6, BMW X3, Chevrolet Aveo and Chevrolet Orlando, Citroën DS5, Hyundai i40 and the VW Golf Cabriolet and Jetta.
