The Volkswagen ‘up!’ (manufactured in Brazil) has joined Latin NCAP’s growing club of ‘five star’ models having achieved the maximum possible rating of five stars in adult occupant safety and the highest rating in child occupant safety of four stars. Latin NCAP awarded the coveted five star rating to the VW’s ‘up!’ after testing the car in two crash test formats; the frontal impact test at 64 kph and side impact test at 50 kph*. The car’s good performance in child occupant protection was assisted by the standard fitment of the ISOFIX** child restraint system, top tethers and anchorages. Taken together, the five and four star ratings for adult and child occupants achieved by the ‘up!’ are the best combined results reached thus far by Latin NCAP.
María Fernanda Rodríguez, President of Latin NCAP: “Latin NCAP is delighted to see a compact car achieve the much valued five star status. It shows that good performance in safety is not just a luxury but is perfectly possible in small and affordable cars intended for the mass market. The child occupant protection score also shows encouraging progress and highlights the importance of the availability of ISOFIX child seats, which are safer and much easier for parents to use”.
Latin NCAP also released the improved performance results of the Renault Clio Mio (made in Argentina) which just achieved three stars for adult occupant rating. Previous test results published in July of last year gave the vehicle zero stars in adult occupant safety and one star in child occupant safety. In response to this disappointing result Renault improved the car and sponsored a new test of the same model. The Clio Mio is now equipped with two frontal airbags as standard in all versions, and a reinforcement in the front doors has also been added as of mid January 2014.
Alejandro Furas Global NCAP Technical Director: “Latin NCAP is pleased that Renault has acted swiftly to improve the safety performance of the Clio Mio after its disappointing zero star result last year. Their structural upgrades and the equipment of airbags were key in earning the Clio Mio a three star rating for Adult Occupant Safety. Renault’s action demonstrates the effectiveness of Latin NCAP in raising levels of safety in cars sold in the region and shows the positive benefit of co-operation with vehicle manufacturers.”
*Frontal crash test: The car impacts a deformable barrier at 64kph with 40% of its front. There are 4 passengers in the car, 2 adult dummies in the front , one 3 year old child dummy and one 18 months old child dummy in the rear seat both sitting in the child restraint system (CRS) recommended by the manufacturer. This is a performance based test.
Side crash test: The car is impacted on the side by a movable deformable barrier mounted in front of a 850kg standarized cart moving at 50kph. The driver is the only passenger in the car. This test is the UN-Regulation 95 side impact test.
**ISOFIX: stands for “International Standards Organisation FIX”. It is a standard for installing child seats into cars and is intended to make fitting child seats quick and simple. ISOFIX is a rigid anchor for the CRS used in the car. ISOFIX offers reduction in misuse related to installation of the CRS and better dynamic performance. ISOFIX anchorages have 2 lower anchors together with a third anchorage called Top tether in order to reduce the frontal rotation of the CRS.
