Footdown

Audi wins five-star safety score

The Audi Q5 (right) we reviewed on May 16 earned a five-star rating in the European New Car Assessment Programme, the Brussels-based testers said on Wednesday.

That's good news for Audi because Euro NCAP has toughened its crash testing this year to include the new rear impact (whiplash) tests and the availability of electronic stability control and speed limitation devices. From this year, Euro NCAP's new overall rating covers adult occupant protection (in which the Q5 scored 92 per cent); child occupant protection (it scored 84 per cent); pedestrian protection (32 per cent) and a new area of assessment - safety assist (71 per cent). We thus list the Q5's safety vital statistics as 92-84-32-71. The sports utility vehicle's numbers are good, the testers say.

'Protection of the passenger was good for all parts of the body,' Euro NCAP says of the diesel 2.0TDI Steppe version it bashed to bits (top right). 'For the driver, the steering column presented a risk of injury to femurs. The car scored maximum points for its performance in the side barrier test, with good protection of all body regions. In the side pole test, chest protection was marginal. The seat and head restraint provided good protection against whiplash.'

The Q5 seems school-run friendly too. Based on crash-test dummy readings, 'maximum points were scored for the protection provided to both the three-year-old and 18-month-old children in the frontal and side impact tests', the testers say.

The Q5 needs firm control in crowded areas such as Wan Chai or Sai Ying Pun, where old pyjama-wearing men still jaywalk, for its 'bonnet offered poor protection in most areas likely to be struck by a pedestrian's head', Euro NCAP warns. 'Similarly, protection offered by the front edge of the bonnet to pedestrian's legs was poor.'

Superminis such as the Honda Jazz (78-79-60-71), Hyundai i20 (88-83-64-86), Kia Soul (87-86-39-86) and Peugeot 3008 (86-81-31-97) also won five stars, while the Suzuki Alto (55-46-35-29) scored three.

'Many claim the weight and size of a car is the only criteria for safety,' says Euro NCAP secretary general Michiel van Ratingen. 'We believe that there are other aspects of safety that are just as important. The smaller cars we tested ... show that size should not stand in the way of all-round safety.'

But the Honda Jazz's results highlight how the build and safety of some Japanese cars differs in Europe and Hong Kong. The Jazz in the Europe NCAP tests has a curtain airbag (above) that seems to protect the passenger's head; the Hong Kong version has just a couple of front-seat airbags.