The sheer impact the dummies went through is the biggest off putting factor I’ve ever had to buying my next Panda. Terrifying. Even if the re-test was possibly commissioned by VW lol
What baffles me is how it scored very well in the offset test when it was first tested, yet neither the car nor the test have changed, yet all of a sudden, there's now an injury risk.
I'd love to keep my car until it's 25..
It'd have no floor by then or be a patchwork quilt of welding and be absolutely un-motable but to keep it for less time is materialistic..
I find it slightly strange that this discussion needs to be had on a forum where it's pretty common knowledge the rear beam on panda/500 is good for 8/12 years before rotting away. At which point it's pretty close to being an uneconomic repair.
So... what has happened here?
The seat belts are failing to work as they should?
Must admit the Panda, from my perspective, handles the test better than the Up! Does - except for the movement of the dummies.
One dummy looks like it’d have severely broken it’s neck due to the horrific motion of it moving back after the initial crash ... am I right to suspect so?
That’s the only part putting me off it really.
~
For NCAP to completely ignore it’s airbags, brakes, city brake option, ABS etc and give it less than ‘1’ is wrong. Surely ZERO should belong to a vehicle with ZERO efforts for safety ... e.g. a shopping trolley boarded mid-descent down a hill headed for a concrete wall. That’s zero. The Panda is still relatively ‘safe’ surely. Even if it’s supposedly the least safe in class?
As tested the Panda lacked knee airbags and Pelvis airbag which the ncap 500 score lists as including. Also the 500 got some assist points for including a speed limiter, not sure how the 500 got a decentish child score and the Panda scored 16% though.
I agree that it doesn't look like a real 0 star job it should be reserved for true horrors. This while not brilliant stands up much better than the score suggests.
Weird how the new Polo/Ibiza/Fabia hasn't been docked it's safety rating for having rear seatbelts that can come undone if 3 people sit in the back. The fix so far..a sticker saying don't put 3 people in the back..quality.
NCAP replied to me, and this is what they said... (I can't remember if it was this the thread where I'd said about my initial email)...
Well done for emailing them. It does appear to confirm that they are indeed singling out Fiat
And anyway, why can’t NCAP get more detailed? Why can’t it show me a chart with performance numbers on each car’s body frame. Why can’t it get into the performance metrics of the brakes? Wet and dry stopping distances. The car tested at its maximum payload and single driver - not crashing it against a wall for each, but genuinely testing it at its limits with, e.g. “this city car has the best brakes in the class” etc.