Last updated on April 8th, 2020 at 08:00 pm
Back in June 2017, the Tesla Model X was the first SUV to achieve a 5-star crash rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in the US. Over two years later, the Model X has finally secured a 5-star rating from the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP).
The tests carried out by Euro NCAP are rigorous; they evaluate the vehicle's safety assistance features and how the car – in this case, an SUV – can protect its passengers and how much of an impact it'll have to ‘vulnerable road users', in other words, pedestrians.
In late November, we wrote about a few things you should consider before buying Tesla's latest vehicle, the Cybertruck. One of our concerns surrounds pedestrian safety – the pickup truck's armoured shell could have a devastating impact on vulnerable road users. Whilst this might be an issue for the Cybertruck, the Model X has scored relatively high in this department: Euro NCAP awarded the SUV 72%; a respectable score for a vehicle of its size.
The Model X also achieved a near-perfect score in the Adult Occupant Protection category. The SUV managed 8/8 on the Frontal Offset Deformable Barrier test, and what's even more impressive is the vehicle's 16/16 score on the Lateral Impact test. On the whole, the SUV received a staggering 98% score in this category.
The Child Occupant category was also high at 81%. The crash test dummies used are in the form of a six and a ten year old child. Aside from the SUV's structural integrity, the Model X also scored highly (94%) in the Safety Assist category, whereby the vehicle is smart enough to detect obstacles and provide the driver with assistance: Lane Support received 4/4 points; while AEB Inter-Urban, which is there to “help the driver avoid a rear-end crash by warning and supporting adequate braking or ultimately stopping the vehicle by themselves” received 2.4/3 points.
Overall, the Model X earned the highest rating in the 2018/2019 protocol for the Large Off-Road class; this truly demonstrates that a larger-sized vehicle can be as safe as a smaller-sized saloon, such as the Model 3, which also reeled in a 5-star rating from Euro NCAP.
It's great to see the Model X getting some love; after all, most of the news of late has come out about the Tesla Cybertruck. Let's not forget, the Model X is still among one of the best premium EVs around, namely for larger-sized families.
Is safety important to you? Would you buy a vehicle based purely on its Euro NCAP or NHTSA rating? Let us know in the comments section, below.