Crash stars - and strikes

PEUGEOT’S 1007 three-door micro hatch, which is under consideration for sale in Australia, has achieved five stars in the latest European NCAP results.

Released to coincide with last week’s Geneva motor show, the results showed that the 1007’s score of 36 was the highest ever test score from any class of vehicle.

In other results, a four-star occupant protection rating was handed to both the Suzuki Swift – just released in Australia – and Honda’s FR-V.

In these latest tests, pedestrian protection has also improved overall with the Swift and FR-V achieving a three-star rating. In this category, the 1007 achieved two stars.

But the news wasn’t all good for small cars last week, with 14 out of 16 small cars rated "poor" in a United States test that simulated a side-on crash with an all-terrain wagon.

Conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the tests rated none of the 16 cars as "good" (the highest rating) for side-impact protection and handed out an "acceptable" (second-highest) rating to just the Toyota Corolla and Chevrolet Cobalt, both of which were equipped with optional side airbags with head protection.

Without the side airbags, these two cars were also rated "poor" for a side-on crash.

Other cars to earn a "poor" rating included the Mazda3, Ford Focus, Mitsubishi Lancer, Hyundai Elantra, Kia Spectra, Dodge Neon and Volkswagen’s New Beetle.

The worst performer of the lot was the Dodge Neon (left), a nameplate known as the Chrysler Neon in Australia.

"This car is a disaster," said IIHS chief operating officer Adrian Lund. "The structure is poor, and both dummies’ heads were hit by the barrier during the crash test. High forces were recorded on the head, torso and pelvis of the driver dummy. If this had been a real driver in a real crash, it’s likely it wouldn’t have been survivable." Pointing to the Neon's marginal rating in the IIHS frontal test, Mr Lund added: "If safety is a priority, the Neon is a small car to be avoided."