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Richard Hammond

Vehicle & Alternative fuels news

Friday, December 22nd 2006

Spanish car-maker Seat has bowed to consumer pressure and reversed its
decision to remove the seatbelt reminder system from the León. Euro NCAP was
told that the safety feature would be axed at the end of August 2006, as
part of a cost-saving exercise and asked Seat to reconsider this decision.
After receiving no response, Euro NCAP issued a press release on the 25th
August 2006 informing consumers of Seat’s proposed action. Public reaction
to that information appears to have convinced Seat’s management to continue
to fit the seat belt reminder system as standard.

Seat issued a press release stating that no Leóns had been produced without
the seatbelt reminder system. Following a request from Euro NCAP for
clarification, Seat has now informed Euro NCAP that they have no plans to
remove the seat belt reminder from the León.

Euro NCAP Chairman, Claes Tingvall, said, “This shows the influence that
public opinion can have on car manufacturers when it comes to maintaining
the highest levels of safety. We are pleased that Seat have responded as
they have.”

Today, Euro NCAP issues its latest set of crash test results. Ratings for
four new cars are released: the Toyota Auris, Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Magentis
and Skoda Roomster. Two of the cars, the Auris and the Roomster, are awarded
a five star rating for adult occupant protection. The Magentis and the Sante
Fe are both awarded four stars.

Despite the Skoda’s excellent five star adult occupant rating, Euro NCAP’s
tests identified a weakness in the Roomster. Main battery power cables are
vulnerable to damage as they are routed down the front of the battery. In
the frontal crash test, these cables were damaged resulting in a loss of
electrical power. As a consequence, the seat belt pretensioners failed to
fire. Skoda proposed the fitment of reinforced sleeves over the cables to
protect the cables. They also proposed a modification that maintained
sufficient electrical supply to fire the pretensioners, even if the cables
were damaged. As a consequence, Euro NCAP allowed a retest. In the retest,
the cable protection was found to be inadequate with some cables again being
damaged. However, the other modifications did ensure that the seat belt
pretensioners operated correctly.
Euro NCAP asked if Skoda planned to modify cars already sold but was
disappointed to learn that there are no plans to do this. Skoda has appllied
the modifications to vehicles from VIN number TMBVCB5J875025783.

As well as a maximum five star rating for adult occupant safety, the Toyota
Auris also achieves a commendable three stars for pedestrian protection.
However, the Hyundai Santa Fe is given a zero-star rating for its pedestrian
protection after failing to score a single point. The Kia Magentis also does
extremely badly, scoring only three points for a one-star rating.

Claes Tingvall, “These are appalling results from these two Korean
manufacturers. It has taken the car industry a long time to address the
issue of pedestrian safety but several manufacturers are now making
improvements and the Toyota Auris joins a growing list of three star cars.
For the Santa Fe not to score a single point shows that Hyundai have made no
effort whatever to protect pedestrians and reflects a worrying disregard for
the safety of this important group of road-users. Manufacturers like Hyundai
and Kia are now a long way behind the front-runners and it is high time that
they realise that such poor results are unacceptable.”

The ratings for these cars in more detail can be seen at www.euroncap.com.

Euro NCAP's commitment to consumers ensures that test results are released as soon as possible. Keep checking our website for details of forthcoming results.

For further information please contact the Euro NCAP office: office@euroncap.com.

Summary of Results

Small Family

Toyota Auris
Occupant Protection: 5 stars
Child Protection: 4 stars
Pedestrian Protection: 3 stars

Large Family

Kia Magentis
Occupant Protection: 4 stars
Child Protection: 3 stars
Pedestrian Protection: 1 stars

Small MPV

Skoda Roomster
Occupant Protection: 5 stars
Child Protection: 4 stars
Pedestrian Protection: 2 stars

Large Off-Roader

Hyundai Santa Fe
Occupant Protection: 4 stars
Child Protection: 4 stars
Pedestrian Protection: 0 stars

Editors notes:

1. With the introduction some time ago of the Child Occupant Protection
rating it is important to refer to the Adult Occupant Protection rating
correctly. In the past, this has been referred to as the "Overall" or
"Occupant" rating. Neither of these is now satisfactory.

2. The front impact test is conducted at 64km/h (40mph) into an offset
deformable barrier, the side impact test 50km/h (30mph), the pole test at
29km/h (18mph) and the pedestrian tests at 40km/h (25mph).

3. Comparison between Size Categories: It is essential that no attempt is
made to compare the ratings between cars in different segments or mass
groups. The frontal crash test aims to measure the performance of the car
impacting another car of similar mass. There is no capability to determine
what would happen if cars of widely different masses impact each other. It
is not primarily the mass difference that has the effect, but the effect
that mass has on the structural stiffness combined with the relative height
of the structures from the ground.