Best In Class: Euro NCAP Releases The Safest Cars In Each Class For 2018
It’s that time of year when a lot of us are making like Chris Rea (driving home for Christmas) and thinking about the year that’s been. The boys and girls in blue are also starting to ramp up the usual Christmas and New Year clampdown on drunk driving (fair enough) and speeding (sometimes getting a bit too picky). News announcers are going to dampen our festive mood by letting us know what the holiday road toll is for this year. In keeping with this combination of wrapping up 2018 and keeping our minds on safety in a way that isn’t quite such a buzzkill, let’s take a look at the stars that Euro NCAP rated as being the safest new cars in each class for 2018.
Euro NCAP puts out its list of Best in Class vehicles (sounds like a dog show). This list shows you who came out top out of the new vehicles in each vehicle class for that year. It’s based on a bunch of different aspects of safety: protection of adult occupants, protection of child occupants, pedestrian safety and safety assistance. These four factors have different weightings when they’re added together to get the final score. Tests are carried out on the vehicles with standard safety equipment.
Some categories of vehicle don’t have a Best in Class for the year. This happens when Euro NCAP hasn’t tested enough in that particular category to really make it a contest. They only tested one in the Fleet category and none in the Vans category this year, for example.
And now (drum roll), here’s the winners for 2018:
Large Off-Road Vehicle: Hyundai Nexo
This one’s not currently available in Australia but it should come in a limited edition in 2019, according to Hyundai Australia. This 5-door SUV (which isn’t exactly a big brute but was classed as a large off-roader by Euro NCAP) used hydrogen fuel cell technology plus electric, making it a hybrid among hybrids. Looks pretty nice, too, so it’s going to be worth the wait! It scored 94% for Adult Occupant, 87% for Child Occupant, 97% for Pedestrian and 80% for Safety Assistance.
Large Family Car: Lexus ES
Euro NCAP is talking about a large car for families, not a car for large families, and this luxury hybrid sedan will certainly carry your family in style. It got a score of 91% for Adult Occupant, 87% for Child Occupant, 90% for Pedestrian and 77% for Safety Assistance.
Small Family Car: Mercedes-Benz A-Class
This snappy little 5-door hatch scored 96% for Adult Occupant, 91% for Child Occupant, 92% for Pedestrian and 75% for Safety Assistance. Its automatic brake assistance scooped it a whopping 11.8 out of a possible 12 in the safety features category.
Euro NCAP also has a separate class for electric and hybrid vehicles. This year, the Best in Class in this category was the Lexus ES. Something tells me that as Europe phases out straight ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles and brings in more and more hybrids and EVs, this category is going to be scrapped, as they’re all going to fit into it.
According to the official Euro NCAP press release, this year, the safety tests had a particular focus on “vulnerable road users”, namely pedestrians and cyclists. And yes, they use crash test dummy pedestrians and cyclists for these tests, especially for the AEB (automatic emergency braking) systems. (Can some bright psychologist tell me why the walking pedestrian dummies they use in the AEB tests always make me want to laugh?).
Here’s the A-Class going through its paces at the Euro NCAP facility so you can see exactly what they do to these cars. Part of me thinks that these tests waste a nice car but then, to ensure great safety, you need to make some sacrifices, and it’s better to waste a machine than a human being.
Euro NCAP also puts out lists of the top vehicles in each of the categories. Not all of the ones listed in these rankings are available in Australia yet, but we’ll certainly let you know all about them when they get here. Here’s the ranking for family vehicles (i.e. small and large family vehicles and MPVS), ranked by overall score:
- Mercedes-Benz A-Class
- Lexus ES
- Audi Q3
- Volvo S60
- Volvo V60
- Peugeot 508
- Mazda 6
- Nissan LEAF
- Ford Focus
- Ford Tourneo Connect
- Opel Combo
- Citroën Berlingo
- Peugeot Rifter
Safe and happy driving not only over the Christmas and New Year period but also all through 2019, whether you score yourself one of these super-safe new cars or whether you prefer something else.
Level 2, 9 Help Street