New Panda Euro NCAP Results

[Dr_Pepper]

Yes I'd like to see where that came from so you're saying Renault pays NCap to get good results? A big claim I'd be interested to see the evidence.

I'm a student so I don't worry about such things but I know for a fact my parents wouldn't get a 3 star car now - did you see the Top gear episode where they showed the crashed cars comparison?

"Or improve ones driving ability as not to have one in the first place?....." But what about the **** in a nova that doesn't care who he crashes into?

 

[Vin]

"Or improve ones driving ability as not to have one in the first place?....." But what about the **** in a nova that doesn't care who he crashes into?

Ahhhh, but surely that Nogo will have broken down and won't be crashing into anything......

 

[Dr_Pepper]

Just looked at the Ncap site. They say they choose which car to test not the manufacturers and they choose which model based on which they predict will sell the most. Manufacturers can then pay extra if they want a test on a higher spec model.

Ahhhh, but surely that Nogo will have broken down and won't be crashing into anything......

Good Point!!

 

[The Negotiator]

Richard, the problem I have is that as far as I can see is that the Panda in the UK only exists with a passenger airbag (that was my first thought) - if you read the Panda test it states it came like it was, nobody can argue with them for going for the model which will sell the most etc. and if Fiat can't even put dual airbags in all their pandas, maybe 3*s is well deserved?

 

[Vin]

Out of curiosity, how does anyone know what will sell the most?

 

[The Negotiator]

Vin, companies like Mintel will look into market trends etc. and predict with fantastic accuracy things like that and charge you thousands just for the short PDF with their findings.

 

[Dr_Pepper]

I'd save them the thousands and confidently predict that the basic model will sell the most.

 

[jasper]

I'm glad this started a good debate - it's interesting that Euro Ncap were supplied with a bog standard Fiat - I think base spec may differ slightly from country to country in Europe as mine is the base model and came with a passenger side airbag - that can be switched off.

As to the sterile environment, yes in a real world accidents will have all sorts of different factors involved. If you could replicate the exact same real world accident in a new Panda and a Renault Modus, I think it would be correct to assume that in the Modus I would be 'safer' and suffer less injuries than in the Panda.

Also, I bought my Panda because it was astonishing value and is a belter of a car in every other aspect. Part of me also bought it because I thought yes it probably will be a very safe little car (the brochure talks of it's fire prevention system - the only car in its class to have this, I think, its deformable pedal system, its highly absorbent crash structures etc etc) then .....3 stars, oh??

One of the points I'm trying to make is; all on this forum love Fiats but that same fact can make us very blinkered and allow them to get away with things. There are not enough Fiat fans out there, that will forgive anything, for Fiat as a manufactuer to survive. If we want to drive MODERN i.e new Fiats in the future they have to be competitive and this safety result is just one more example of how they haven't reached that level of competitiveness ....yet. Below par safety, shouldn't be an Italian 'ideo-synchracy' of modern fiats beacuse of all the other character defining traits of modern Italian cars ...none of those might kill you. All very melodromatic I know and the way my argument comes across in black and white type makes me sound like even more of a loony, but I'm sure some of you will agree there is an element of truth in what I say?

 

[lalli]

Just would like to point out that the cars are also given marks for warning devices ie seatbelts etc. I would also state the fact that the modus is larger than a panda . So it is more difficult to design a vehicle that is safe yet does not crumple over a certain point and minimising the force felt on the occupents.

Also if anyone watched 5th gear where they crashed the smart and the corsa, even though the smart is much better than the corsa in ncap tests, Anyone in the 2 cars would have been dead. This is because our bodies can not handle the rate of deceleration. You ask me, all cars are generally good but really a matter of luck if you survive a impact.

 

[lalli]

Just would like to point out that the cars are also given marks for warning devices ie seatbelts etc. I would also state the fact that the modus is larger than a panda . So it is more difficult to design a vehicle that is safe yet does not crumple over a certain point and minimising the force felt on the occupents.

Also if anyone watched 5th gear where they crashed the smart and the corsa, even though the smart is much better than the corsa in ncap tests, Anyone in the 2 cars would have been dead. This is because our bodies can not handle the rate of deceleration. You ask me, all cars are generally good but really a matter of luck if you survive a impact.

Also remember that the panda is the one of the lightest cars on the road today.

 

[The Negotiator]

I think the point is that of course it's luck, but in the same crash, you are more likely to survive in car x than car y. Aslong as x has a higher NCAP than y. The argument of basing it all on luck is like saying "a car with a 0-60 of 4 seconds could be beaten by a Nissan Serena diesel with 0-60 29seconds" -yes it could, but which would you place your bets on?

The Modus is in the same sector as the Panda hence comparison.

 

[arseofbox]

"a car with a 0-60 of 4 seconds could be beaten by a Nissan Serena diesel with 0-60 29seconds"

Im sorry....How long? 29 secs?

Its a fair point, but thing to remember is crash dynamics is very very complicated (needs FEA to solve that stuff), so a test at 40mph may say naff all if the same collision were to happen at 70 or 80mph!

 

[Dr_Pepper]

True but any test is a better indication than no test. If one car performs better than another in on situation it's likely to also perform better in another IN GENERAL. Ncap tries to test as near to possible to real life situations but obvioulsy you can't test every angle at every speed (because you'd need a lot of cars!)