Euro NCAP crashed 12 cars, and caused surprisingly little damage. Eight out of the 12 demolished vehicles received the coveted 5 star rating. Mercedes Viano and Ford Ka have four stars, the Dacia Sandero has three. The Ford Ranger limped out of the testing lab with only 2 stars: Bad boy! Results can be found here.
Next year, Euro NCAP will use a new, more stringent method. Cars without ESP won’t stand a chance to receive 5 stars. Seats will receive special attention. As a warning to manufacturers, Euro NCAP published results of its rear impact (whiplash) test which hadn’t been part of this year’s star ratings. It will be next year. Automakers better get off their duffs and start working on those seats now. Only 4 out of 25 received good marks. The rest are marginal or poor. Results here. Doing nothing will result in major demotions next year.
Why don’t we just specify that the cars have to survive a hit by a an RPG or a cruise missile and call it good?
Just to clarify, this the Thailand Ford Ranger, not the USA model.
Considering how bad the Chevy Colorado performed in U.S. IIHS crash tests (worse than the bonehead USA Ranger) it seems like these world truck platforms are pretty light in the safety department.