Top Euro crash rating for Mondeo, Tiguan

TWO significant new vehicles coming to Australia – the Ford Mondeo medium-sized car and the Volkswagen Tiguan compact SUV – have scored a maximum five stars for adult occupant protection in the latest round of European NCAP crash test results handed down last week.

However, two other vehicles tested failed to achieve the coveted five-star result – the Hyundai i30 five-door hatchback, which is being launched in Australia this week, scored four stars and four stars were also given to the Volkswagen Caddy light commercial/small MPV.

When it arrives in Australia next month, the Mondeo will become Ford Australia’s second vehicle, after the Focus, to earn a maximum rating from the stringent independent NCAP regime.

Left:VW Tiguan, Hyundai i30 and VW Caddy crash test shots.

The Tiguan, which is due for release in 2008, will join the Golf, Passat and Touareg as five-star performers available in Australia from the German brand.

Both the Mondeo and Tiguan scored four stars out of five for child occupant protection, and two stars out of four for pedestrian protection.

The four-star adult occupant rating for the i30 is a star better than the result handed to its predecessor, the Elantra hatch, in 2001. However, it is a rung below the standard fast becoming the norm in passenger vehicles built around the world.

In the same class, Hyundai’s sister brand Kia recently achieved five stars with its all-new Cee’d small car, which shares a number of components with the i30 but is not available in, and not coming in the short-term to, Australia.

“The i30 did not achieve the minimum points needed in frontal impact for a five-star adult occupant rating, despite scoring enough points overall, (because) the driver dummy’s right knee indicated that there had been potentially injurious relative movement between the femur and the tibia,” said Euro NCAP last week.

“This, combined with penalties for structures in the dashboard which could injure occupants’ knees and femurs, gave an overall rating of ‘weak’ for protection of that body region. The passenger compartment remained stable during the impact.”

Both the i30 and the Caddy managed three stars for child occupant protection and two stars for pedestrian protection.