The new Bravo earned a 5 star Euro NCAP rating, here's the Fiat press release:
The new Fiat Bravo earns a five star Euro NCAP rating
The new Fiat Bravo has been awarded the prestigious five star Euro NCAP rating, placing it at the top of its category for safety, with a total score of 33 points. This is an important accolade which, together with the similar ratings given to the Grande Punto and Fiat Croma, is confirmation of the commitment of Fiat Automobiles SpA to all aspects of driver and passenger protection.
In the case of the Fiat Bravo, this commitment has yielded outstanding results. To achieve this, the designers considered every single possible type of accident: head-on and lateral collisions, rollovers, rear-end collisions and fire. Other factors taken into consideration included the different speeds at which accidents occur, obstacles and the protection of occupants with widely differing physical attributes. In all, over fifteen thousand hours of computations were carried out, along with sixty crash tests, a hundred and fifty simulations with the HyGe sled and a hundred tests on components and subsystems. These figures are proof of the company’s resolve to make the Bravo one of the safest cars on the road.
This remarkable safety performance has been made possible by the many sophisticated systems available with the new model (standard equipment levels depend on local markets and versions). These include an array of passive safety devices, with two front airbags (the driver has a two-stage bag), two front side bags, two window bags and a knee airbag for the driver. On top of these are three point seat belts with pretensioners and load limiters, five head-restraints and the FPS fire prevention system. Bodyshell elements such as the bonnet, door and dashboard cross member also contribute to protecting the occupants. Lastly, a number of other components also play a part in passive safety, such as the seats and steering column, which have been designed bearing in mind their behaviour in a crash.
Furthermore, the new car's consistent and predictable handling means that it can absorb a certain degree of driver error and easily cope with critical situations. In addition to a high performance brake system, the Fiat Bravo also features the latest generation electronic braking and traction control systems to ensure safe dynamic performance. These include ABS with EBD (Electronic Brake Force Distribution) and, most importantly, ESP (Electronic Stability Program), a system that steps in under near critical conditions, when the stability of the car is at risk, to help the driver maintain control of the vehicle. The ESP system installed on the Fiat Bravo includes a number of additional functions, namely ASR (Anti Slip Regulation), which limits wheelspin in the event of low grip road conditions; MSR (Engine Torque Regulation), which comes into play during rapid downshifts, reducing engine torque and preventing the drive wheels from locking up; HBA (Hydraulic Brake Assistance), an electronic-hydraulic system that acts in the event of emergency braking; and lastly, the Hill-hold function to facilitate uphill starts.
Fiat Bravo is therefore a car designed and built to attain the highest standards of safety and reliability. This guarantee of peace of mind is attracting growing public approval, as demonstrated by the 9,500 orders received to date in Italy, the 620 thousand visitors during the recent Open Doors initiative held by Fiat dealerships and the 350 thousand web surfers taking part in the “Quellichebravo” blog. This is a remarkable success, which bodes well for the car’s forthcoming debuts on the main European markets, with a French launch date of March 17, followed shortly afterwards by launches in Switzerland, Holland, Germany and Spain.
Turin, March 1 2007
The new Fiat Bravo earns a five star Euro NCAP rating
The new Fiat Bravo has been awarded the prestigious five star Euro NCAP rating, placing it at the top of its category for safety, with a total score of 33 points. This is an important accolade which, together with the similar ratings given to the Grande Punto and Fiat Croma, is confirmation of the commitment of Fiat Automobiles SpA to all aspects of driver and passenger protection.
In the case of the Fiat Bravo, this commitment has yielded outstanding results. To achieve this, the designers considered every single possible type of accident: head-on and lateral collisions, rollovers, rear-end collisions and fire. Other factors taken into consideration included the different speeds at which accidents occur, obstacles and the protection of occupants with widely differing physical attributes. In all, over fifteen thousand hours of computations were carried out, along with sixty crash tests, a hundred and fifty simulations with the HyGe sled and a hundred tests on components and subsystems. These figures are proof of the company’s resolve to make the Bravo one of the safest cars on the road.
This remarkable safety performance has been made possible by the many sophisticated systems available with the new model (standard equipment levels depend on local markets and versions). These include an array of passive safety devices, with two front airbags (the driver has a two-stage bag), two front side bags, two window bags and a knee airbag for the driver. On top of these are three point seat belts with pretensioners and load limiters, five head-restraints and the FPS fire prevention system. Bodyshell elements such as the bonnet, door and dashboard cross member also contribute to protecting the occupants. Lastly, a number of other components also play a part in passive safety, such as the seats and steering column, which have been designed bearing in mind their behaviour in a crash.
Furthermore, the new car's consistent and predictable handling means that it can absorb a certain degree of driver error and easily cope with critical situations. In addition to a high performance brake system, the Fiat Bravo also features the latest generation electronic braking and traction control systems to ensure safe dynamic performance. These include ABS with EBD (Electronic Brake Force Distribution) and, most importantly, ESP (Electronic Stability Program), a system that steps in under near critical conditions, when the stability of the car is at risk, to help the driver maintain control of the vehicle. The ESP system installed on the Fiat Bravo includes a number of additional functions, namely ASR (Anti Slip Regulation), which limits wheelspin in the event of low grip road conditions; MSR (Engine Torque Regulation), which comes into play during rapid downshifts, reducing engine torque and preventing the drive wheels from locking up; HBA (Hydraulic Brake Assistance), an electronic-hydraulic system that acts in the event of emergency braking; and lastly, the Hill-hold function to facilitate uphill starts.
Fiat Bravo is therefore a car designed and built to attain the highest standards of safety and reliability. This guarantee of peace of mind is attracting growing public approval, as demonstrated by the 9,500 orders received to date in Italy, the 620 thousand visitors during the recent Open Doors initiative held by Fiat dealerships and the 350 thousand web surfers taking part in the “Quellichebravo” blog. This is a remarkable success, which bodes well for the car’s forthcoming debuts on the main European markets, with a French launch date of March 17, followed shortly afterwards by launches in Switzerland, Holland, Germany and Spain.
Turin, March 1 2007
's up!
