Fiat wins praise for safety

FIAT has earned a special award from Europe’s crash safety watchdog for the autonomous braking on its Panda and 500L — and the technology is coming to Australia.

The Italian car-maker’s City Brake Control system monitors the road ahead and will automatically apply the car’s brakes if it senses a collision is likely.

The technology has earned a pat on the back from the European New Car Assessment Program’s “Reward” program that recognises car-makers that make significant improvements to the crash safety of a vehicle.

At speeds below 30km/h, testing showed the system can avoid collisions completely, EuroNCAP said.

Fiat Australia has confirmed that the Panda city hatchback, which only earns a four-star EuroNCAP, will benefit from the safety system when it arrives on Australian soil late this year.

From top: Fiat 500L and Honda CR-V undergoes EuroNCAP testing

The stretched-wheelbase, five-star Fiat 500L city hatchbackis still under review for Australia, but if it does go on sale here it is likely to share the Panda’s award-winning feature.

Mitsubishi’s five-star Outlander was also presented with an EuroNCAP Advanced award for similar self-braking technology, although Australian buyers wanting the system will have to shell out at least $45,490 for the top-of-the-line Aspire.

EuroNCAP has also awarded the Honda CR-V compact soft-roader a top- five-star crash rating.

The re-rating is the result of recent upgrades to the CR-V’s safety systems, including low-speed automated braking, a monitoring system that warns a driver if the car strays out of a lane, and adaptive cruise control that keeps a set distance from the car ahead at freeway speeds.