Euro NCAP\u00a0has just published its latest round of test results, which tend to\u00a0confirm my theory, with even the smallest supermini car models outscoring several new van-derived MPVs:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class:\u00a0Five Stars<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Toyota Aygo (also Citro\u00ebn C1 and Peugeot 108) cars:\u00a0Four stars<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Renault\u00a0Twingo:\u00a0Four stars<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Nissan e-NV200 Evalia:\u00a0Three stars<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n
- Citro\u00ebn Berlingo \/ Peugeot Partner MPV:\u00a0Three stars<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Let’s take a closer look at the reasons for these poor scores.<\/p>\n
![\"Nissan](\"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/nissan-e-nv200-6-sm-300x199.jpg\")
The MPV version of the e-NV200 only managed a three-star score in the latest Euro NCAP tests — compared to five stars for the new Qashqai.<\/p><\/div>\n
Nissan e-NV200 Evalia<\/h3>\n
The e-NV200 Evalia is an electric people carrier version of the recently-launched e-NV200 van<\/a>. Although the van model has won widespread praise from fleet trial\u00a0users, its three-star safety test result\u00a0highlights several\u00a0weaknesses.<\/p>\n
While Nissan’s new Qashqai model — similar in size — scored five stars in the same test earlier this year, the e-NV200 Evalia was let down by a poor 38% score in the Safety Assist category of the test, compared to 79%\u00a0for the new Qashqai.<\/p>\n
Although both models\u00a0have an electronic stability system, the Evalia had a non-compliant speed limiter system, no seat-belt reminder for rear seats,\u00a0and no optional lane departure or autonomous braking systems — all of which were available as standard or as options on the Qashqai.<\/p>\n
Peugeot Partner \/\u00a0Citro\u00ebn Berlingo<\/h3>\n
Citro\u00ebn’s new Berlingo MPV model (which is identical in safety terms to the Peugeot Partner)\u00a0also scored three stars in the 2014 Euro NCAP tests.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/citroen-berlingo-1-sm-300x199.jpg\")
The MPV version of the new Berlingo scored three stars in the latest Euro NCAP tests.<\/p><\/div>\n
Despite its\u00a0larger size, the Berlingo scored just 56% and 74% for\u00a0adult and child occupancy safety — compared to\u00a080%\u00a0<\/em>in both categories for the new supermini C1 model.<\/p>\n
The Berlingo\u00a0also faired worse in the\u00a0Safety Assist tests, scoring only 48%, against the C1’s 56%. In fairness,\u00a0Citro\u00ebn’s C-Elys\u00e9e saloon model, which was also tested\u00a0earlier this year, also scored worse than the new C1, suggesting that one cause for this might be\u00a0the older origins of the current Berlingo design, compared to the C1.<\/p>\n
However, I think that most consumers would\u00a0expect a larger vehicle to be safer for occupants than a smaller car of the same age.<\/p>\n
Should van drivers worry?<\/h3>\n
It’s important to remember that these scores are all relative — in reality, today’s new\u00a0cars and vans are considerably safer than\u00a0most older models. It’s just surprising that van-derived models\u00a0seem to continue to lag\u00a0car designs.<\/p>\n
Things are generally improving, however<\/a> — the Ford Transit Custom scored five stars last year in its Tourneo guise<\/a>, while the VW Transporter\u00a0Kombi and Mercedes-Benz Citan Kombi also managed four-star scores in last year’s test.<\/p>\n
The main\u00a0sticking point this year appears to be a relative lack of safety systems, such as lane departure and autonomous braking, in new vans — areas which are receiving greater emphasis in this year’s test.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The latest Euro NCAP test results, including the Citroen Berlingo, Peugeot Partner, Nissan e-NV200 Evalia van-derived MPV models.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[120,1695,1865,492,14],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6588"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6588"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6588\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6594,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6588\/revisions\/6594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Toyota Aygo (also Citro\u00ebn C1 and Peugeot 108) cars:\u00a0Four stars<\/strong><\/li>\n