EuroNCAP: Dacia Sandero, Nissan Evalia, Renault Captur and Chevrolet Trax put to the test

The latest crash and safety tests from EuroNCAP have been published with mixed results, although overall we can consider that the most recent vehicles put through the wall of lamentations have achieved a fairly good average. This group of vehicles had two exceptions: the Nissan Evalia, which scored three stars, and the Dacia Sandero with four stars, which would otherwise have been an almost perfect group of tests.

Let us begin with the Nissan Evalia, which obtained the worst result of all. EuroNCAP notes that in the frontal crash test the floor separated from the rest of the bodyshell in some areas, mainly at the front of the cabin. In the side pole impact, the result indicated that the occupants had marginal protection, while the rest of the areas tested performed adequately, including pedestrian protection, child protection and airbag and electronic safety systems.

The Dacia Sandero earned four stars, with good occupant protection overall, although the total score was penalised by chest protection in side impacts. Likewise, pedestrian protection was considered moderately good, as the shape of the bonnet could cause pelvis injuries. As for the other points tested by EuroNCAP, the Sandero passed the tests without major problems.

It can be said that the Renault Captur achieved the best results of all, with some exceptions that may be due to very specific events in the readings of the impacts recorded by the dummies, such as one of them striking the C-pillar. Occupant protection was the best achieved of the four models, as were pedestrian protection, electronic systems and side impacts. The Captur is the most recent of the four models, which is noticeable.

EuroNCAP used as its reference for the Chevrolet Trax tests those carried out on the Opel Mokka, since they are essentially the same vehicle. Only in the tests that were not in force at the time the Opel Mokka was tested last year did the safety body carry out new tests. The results were very good, with adequate protection across all areas equally, the area for improvement being the shape of the front bonnet, which can cause injuries in pedestrian impacts.

Source | EuroNCAP