The latest round of crash test results from safety experts Euro NCAP have been announced,
with a maximum five-star rating for all cars tested including the hotly anticipated electric
Tesla Model 3.
But what do these results show us? With the help of Thatcham Research - the people who
carry out some of these tests - we’re going to tell you.
And if you want to buy any of these extra safe cars head to the New Car Buying section
on whatcar.com to find the best deals - and subscribe to our channel to get all our latest
new videos direct to your YouTube feed.
When the Tesla Model S and Model X were previously crash tested, they were good, but not state
of the art.
But now, with an outstanding set of crash test results, Tesla has really shown evidence
of its super safety technology with the Model 3.
Let’s talk about passive safety first - that’s the level of protection in the event of a
crash, so it mainly focuses on things like seatbelts, airbags and the structure of the
car.
In the frontal offset test you can see just how good the structure of the car is. Looking
at the side and overhead view, you can see how the front of the car crumples to absorb
the impact rather than transferring the shock to the occupants inside.
A big advantage here is the fact that it doesn’t have an engine, so the front of the car can
absorb the worst of the impact without having to worry about a big engine getting in the
way.
You can also see the occupant compartment is completely undamaged. Naturally there’s
restraints all the way round, along with side curtain airbags, and it’s resulted in one
of the best occupant protection scores Euro NCAP has seen. The colours of the crash test
dummies is green across the body for both driver and passenger - which is rare - and
shows they were brilliantly protected in the crash.
But the active safety is where the Model 3 really stands out from the crowd with a score
of 94% overall. Passive safety covers what happens in the event of a crash, but active
safety is about the systems which help the car to avoid a collision in the first place.
The Autonomous Emergency Braking system performed excellently. Whether it’s detecting and
protecting collisions against cyclists, adults or children - Tesla has all of those things
covered with very high levels of performance.
There’s also an emergency lane keeping test, where the vehicle crosses over a white line
and goes towards a vehicle coming the other way. If the system didn’t intervene you
would have a head on crash. But you can see the Model 3 pulls itself back into lane, avoiding
one of the most common and most serious crashes.
There are still some areas to improve though. In the pole test the driver dummy has an orange
chest, which is partly why it scored 96% instead of 100%. It might not be perfect, but it’s
still very safe.
In Thatcham Research’s opinion, it’s definitely one of the most impressive cars ever tested,
especially considering the crash tests are so much more exacting now than they have ever
been.
Compared to the Audi e-tron and Jaguar I-Pace - both of which are rivals to the Model 3
- they also received 5 stars. However, the Model 3 outscores them both in all areas,
especially for Safety Assist.
But it wasn’t only the Model 3 that was crash tested in the latest round of results.
The other standout performer was the Skoda Scala - and you can watch our full review
of that car by clicking on the link in the top right hand corner of your screen.
The impressive thing about the Scala is that it’s billed as a value car in the family
car class. But even though it undercuts many of its rivals on price, it’s still great
at protecting those inside during an impact.
The other cars tested were all 5 stars as well. The Kia Ceed had a good performance
overall but only scored 88% on adult occupant protection - that is still good considering
the stringent levels of testing, but not a star performer. Plus, it only gets the full
five star result with the optional safety pack - it’s a shame that isn’t standard.
Two Mercedes - the B-Class and GLE - both scored 5 stars.
And the DS 3 Crossback also scored 5 stars but - like the Ceed - it only gets that score
with the optional safety pack. Considering DS is trying to be a premium brand, you’d
expect that to be 5 stars as standard.
So there you have it - another set of very impressive crash test results. Make sure you’re
subscribed to our channel because we have tonnes of new exciting videos lined up for
you, and don’t forget that whatcar.com is the place to save some money on your new car.
Search for our New Car Buying section, and find out how much money you could save on
your next new car, straight away, online, without the need for any haggling.