The European New Car Assessment Programme, or Euro NCAP for short, is a European car safety assessment programme that has a stringent set of tests for vehicles sold in the European market. Today, Euro NCAP published its Best in Class for 2019, which awards the safest cars available in the EU.
Having seen recent success with the Model X, Tesla can now claim that its vehicles are among the safest in the world. The American automaker scooped top spot in three out of the six available categories: the Model 3, alongside the BMW 3 series were deemed to be the best ‘Large Family Car’ in the ‘Hybrid & Electric’ category, while the Model X attained the best ‘Large Off-Roader’ and was runner up to the Model 3 in the ‘Hybrid & Electric’ category.
The other three categories and their winners are as follows: The Mercedes-Benz CLA won ‘Small Family Car’; the Subaru Forester took home the ‘Small Off-Road/MPV’; and both the Audi A1 & Renault Clio shared the ‘Supermini’ category.
To define the winners of each of the categories, Euro NCAP takes the weighted sum of the scores in each of the four areas of assessment: Adult Occupant, Child Occupant, Pedestrian and Safety Assist. Additional points for optional equipment is excluded in this tally. Once the vehicle’s score is completed, it is then compared with other vehicles in its ‘class‘.
The only exception to this rule applies to the 2018 ‘Hybrid & Electric’ category, whereby different-sized cars are pitted against each other. Euro NCAP said that it hopes “that the award will guide consumers who are looking for maximum safety from their electric or hybrid vehicle.”
Both the Model 3 and Model X scored highly across all four tests. The all-electric vehicles achieved 96% in the Adult Occupant tests and a remarkable 94% in Safety Assist – the highest ever recorded score in the history of the assessment programme. Elsewhere, the Model 3 and Model X achieved 86% and 81% in the Child Occupant tests, respectively. The Model 3 achieved 74% in the Vulnerable Road Users tests, while the larger-sized Model X got 72%, instead.
It’s incredible to think that one of the smaller-sized manufacturers, which so happens to be a company that pioneers all-electric vehicles, makes some of the safest in the world. We wonder, however, if Tesla’s upcoming Cybertruck will score as highly as its siblings. The initial verdict is that the pickup truck will have to undergo heavy modifications in order for it to comply with European regulations, let alone if it even passes Euro NCAP’s safety assessments.
Regardless, at the present time, Tesla is the top-dog when it comes to safety. We’re intrigued to see how 2020 (and beyond) will pan out for the manufacturer. Given this knowledge, would you be more inclined to purchase a Tesla Model 3 or Model X? Let us know on Facebook, Twitter or in the comments section, below.
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